The world’s largest astronomy museum opened in China this Friday (16). Located in Shanghai, the largest city of the Asian country, Sam (Shanghai Astronomy Museum) is 39 thousand square meters. In addition to being built to receive exhibitions, it houses a planetarium and a 24-metre-high solar telescope.
hey design The museum is inspired by the orbits of celestial bodies and the geometry of the universe – there are no right angles in the layout.
The inauguration once again shows that China is still making a mark in the field of astronomy. In the past 10 years, the country has sent robotic missions to the other side of the Moon, reached the surface of Mars, deployed and unveiled three space stations. Powerful Long March 5 Rocket.
The SAM structure was developed by Ennead Architects, an architectural firm that won a competition to develop the museum’s project in 2014.
Furthermore, the museum’s chief designer, Thomas J. Wong, said that the project was also inspired by the “three-body problem”, an unsolved question in classical physics that aims only to study the orbits of three bodies subject to attraction. forces between them.
“We thought the three-body problem was interesting because it is a complex set of orbits.[They are[relationships that are dynamic as opposed to a simple circle around the center. Design[—capture this complexity],” Wong said in an interview with CNN International on 12th date.[São[relacionamentosquesãodinâmicosemoposiçãoaumcírculosimplesaoredordocentroEissofaziapartedaintenção[dodesign[—capturaressacomplexidade”afirmouWongementrevistaàCNNInternacionalnoúltimodia12[वेहैं[संबंधजोगतिशीलहैंकेंद्रकेचारोंओरएकसाधारणसर्कलकेविपरीत।डिजाइन[-इसजटिलताकोकैप्चरकरें”वोंग12तारीखकोसीएनएनइंटरनेशनलकेसाथएकसाक्षात्कारमेंकहा।[São[relacionamentosquesãodinâmicosemoposiçãoaumcírculosimplesaoredordocentroEissofaziapartedaintenção[dodesign[—capturaressacomplexidade”afirmouWongementrevistaàCNNInternacionalnoúltimodia12
View images from the world’s largest astronomy museum
1 / 6
An overview of what the Shanghai Astronomy Museum looks like from the outside
Disclosure
2 / 6
Shanghai Astronomy Museum: The structure of the museum gives an idea of the movement
Disclosure
3 / 6
Shanghai Astronomy Museum is designed without any straight lines or right angles
Disclosure
4 / 6
Shanghai Astronomy Museum: An inverted glass dome allows observation of the sky
Disclosure
5 / 6
Shanghai Astronomy Museum: The planetarium is inside a large area of the museum
Disclosure
6 / 6
Shanghai Astronomy Museum: Image of what the museum calls Oculus, which will act as a solarium of sorts
Disclosure
In Wong’s project, the geometry of the universe is transmitted through three arc shapes: the oculus, the sphere, and the inverted dome—astronomical instruments that track the motion of the Sun, Moon, and stars (respectively). Each of them also has a major visitor attraction, starting with the Oculus located at the main entrance to the museum.
The Oculus will act as a sort of solarium, as its opening will allow light to be carried across the museum floor as the Earth rotates and the hours of the day pass.
Another attraction of the place is the planetarium theatre, which is submerged and its lower part will emerge from the terrace. The intention is to create the illusion of weightlessness, and the larger area “emerges” as visitors pass through the site, looking like a moonrise on Earth’s horizon.
Another extraordinary attraction is the huge glass dome that sits atop the central atrium, giving visitors an unobstructed view of the sky. The dome has a 720-degree spiral ramp that directs the visitors’ gaze towards the top of the dome, giving visitors an opportunity to experience an unobstructed view of the sky.
