ARCHITECTURE

Chimney-museum

Award-winning Swiss-French architect Bernard Tschumi has completed the Tianjin Binhai Exploratorium – a large industrial chimney-shaped museum with an unusual perforated copper colored aluminium exterior.
13 February, 2019
Tschumi claims that his Exploratorium was created to be" a building for the past, present, and the future of Tianjin". Conceived as a series of seven conical cylinders, the unique structure relates to the region's rich industrial history. This shape also creates vast spaces throughout the museum, and provides even, natural light throughout.
Set to open this autumn, the 33,000 square meter Exploratorium is located in Tianjin. To celebrate historical and contemporary industrial achievements of the region the museum will be filled with cutting-edge, interactive technologies such as VR. As Tianjin is considered to be the birthplace of the Chinese industrial revolution, exhibitions inside will be meant to explore the city's role as a center for manufacturing, space research, and widespread urbanization. In addition, the building will hold facilities for events, as well as galleries, offices, restaurants and retail.
Images: Dezeen
All of the Exploratorium's facilities are situated in and around the giant cone structures, which protrude out from its walls and above the roofline.

They are wrapped by a copper-colored facade made from perforated aluminium panels, designed by Bernard Tschumi Architects to give the building a "unified presence". At the same time, such "coating" bears a practical meaning in it: the panels perfectly reduce heat gain.

Forming the focal point of the facade is the Exploratorium museum's largest cone, which houses a triple-height lobby with a large spiraling ramp. It provides access to all public parts of the building, and is lined with the viewing portholes that can be seen scattered across the facade.
Images: Dezeen
Visitors can also follow the ramp up to a viewing platform on the roof of the museum, which is situated among the tops of the chimney-like structures. It offers and incredible view of the surrounding city.

The smaller chimney-shaped volumes contain spaces for the display of large exhibits.

Images: Dezeen
To create an "other-worldly feel" inside the museum, Bernard Tschumi Architects fitted circular lights into the ramp that look like a constellation.

However, dependence on artificial lighting is limited elsewhere, as the conal structures are topped by skylights that channel natural light into the whole museum.

Banner image: Dezeen