A new museum in China’s Gobi Desert is demonstrating how sustainable architecture can adapt to extreme environmental conditions while protecting important prehistoric discoveries. The Hami Pterosaur Museum, designed to resemble dinosaur eggs scattered across the desert, combines underground exhibition spaces, natural ventilation and solar power to reduce energy consumption in one of the world’s harshest landscapes.
A Prehistoric Museum Designed for Extreme Desert Conditions
Located in the Hami region of north-western China, the silver-coloured museum resembles a futuristic space station from a distance. From above, its rounded structures appear like dinosaur eggs partially buried in sand.
The museum houses hundreds of pterosaur fossils, offering visitors an opportunity to explore the history of ancient flying reptiles closely related to dinosaurs.
According to museum director Wang Xiaolin, a palaeontologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, summer air temperatures in Hami can exceed 55°C, while ground temperatures can reach 80°C.
The region also experiences powerful winds, frequent sandstorms and winter temperatures below −20°C.
Despite these challenges, Xiaolin says establishing the museum near the fossil discovery sites is scientifically important. Keeping the specimens in their original region helps protect fragile remains and allows visitors to understand their geological context.
Rare Fossils Reveal Life 130 Million Years Ago
The museum contains five exhibition halls displaying discoveries made by Xiaolin’s research team during two decades of excavations.
Among the exhibits is a particularly well-preserved pterosaur fossil featuring upper and lower jaws and soft-tissue structures associated with its head crest.
The specimen provides evidence of creatures that inhabited the region approximately 130 million years ago.
Underground Architecture Reduces Heating and Cooling Requirements
Designed by Beijing-based landscape architecture firm Turenscape, the 8,000-square-metre museum has most of its structure positioned approximately eight metres underground.
Architect Huai Kaifeng says the surrounding earth helps regulate indoor temperatures, reducing heat exposure during summer and retaining warmth throughout winter.
Seven above-ground entrances provide access to the largely subterranean building.
Wang Yujia, a landscape architect and associate professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, says the underground design limits exposure to direct sunlight, sandstorms and extreme daily temperature fluctuations.
“This all means that you need much, much less air-conditioning,” Yujia says.
Natural Ventilation and Daylight Deliver Energy Savings
Although backup air-conditioning systems are installed, the museum primarily uses natural ventilation shafts that allow cooler air to descend while warmer air rises and escapes.
Turenscape estimates that this approach could reduce air-conditioning electricity consumption by 94 per cent compared with a conventional above-ground building.
The projected annual saving is 223,421 kilowatt-hours (kWh).
Lighting presented another challenge because most exhibition spaces are underground.
Architects addressed this by installing large translucent funnels extending from the ceiling towards the floor, allowing daylight to penetrate the interior.
According to Turenscape, the design could reduce artificial lighting requirements by almost 50 per cent, saving an estimated 84,672 kWh annually.
Solar Farm and Water Recycling Support Sustainable Operations
The museum operates its own microgrid, incorporating solar generation and battery storage.
A solar farm approximately one kilometre from the building has been designed to resemble a pterosaur when viewed from above.
The installation is expected to generate more than 22.4 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, sufficient to meet the museum’s projected energy requirements.
However, the facility remains connected to Hami’s municipal electricity network to maintain a reliable power supply.
Water conservation is another important consideration.
Although the museum receives water through the city’s supply network, it also operates a system that collects, treats and reuses greywater.
“Water is precious out here in the Gobi,” Xiaolin says.
A Lasting Architectural Legacy of Kongjian Yu
The museum was among the final projects designed by the late Chinese landscape architect Kongjian Yu, founder of Turenscape.
Yu gained international recognition for developing China’s sponge cities approach, which uses natural landscapes and water-absorbing infrastructure to manage urban flooding.
His work promoted architecture that responds to environmental conditions rather than depending entirely on mechanical systems.
Similar principles can be found in climate-responsive projects worldwide, including Rotterdam’s floating exhibition pavilion, Bangkok’s flood-management landscapes and an Iranian residence inspired by the shape of a snail shell.
Lessons for Australia’s Hot and Dry Regions
The Hami museum’s design offers relevant lessons for Australia, where buildings in inland and remote regions frequently face extreme heat, water scarcity and significant cooling demands.
Underground construction, passive ventilation, daylight management and renewable energy integration are among the approaches that could help reduce reliance on conventional cooling systems in arid environments.
Yujia argues that buildings should work with local environmental conditions wherever possible rather than relying entirely on energy-intensive technologies.
“It makes sense to work as much as possible with the environmental conditions that are already there, instead of relying entirely on technology to isolate the building from them.”
Turenscape chief architect Jiinyi Hwang says climate-responsive design will become increasingly important as temperatures rise and dry regions expand.
“Our world is drying. Deserts and arid zones are expanding. Cities are warming. More and more of the built environment is being pushed into climates that were once considered unbuildable,” Hwang says.
“If we keep designing with the same assumptions – sealed boxes, glass facades and mechanical climate control – we will consume the very resources these landscapes cannot spare.”
A Model for Climate-Responsive Museum Design
The Hami Pterosaur Museum demonstrates how architectural design can combine scientific preservation, visitor accessibility and environmental efficiency.
By using the desert’s natural conditions alongside renewable energy and water recycling, the project offers a practical example of how cultural buildings can reduce resource consumption while operating in demanding climates.
Cory Weinberg is a contributor to Sproutwired.com, covering a wide range of topics including news, politics, business, technology, sport, entertainment and lifestyle. He focuses on delivering clear, balanced reporting that helps readers stay informed about current events and emerging developments. Cory’s work highlights relevant stories, practical insights and important issues affecting communities and industries, with an emphasis on accuracy, clarity and information that readers can trust.
