Architect(s): Pei Partnership Architects
Address: Avenida Dr. Sun Yat-sen, MACAU, China
Latitude/Longitude: 22.1860646,113.5568421
Client : Macau Foundation
Size : 2,475,67 sq.ft/23,000 sq.m
Text description provided by the architects. The Macau Science Centre is an educational and cultural facility considered to be a state-of-the-art that is located at the gateway of Macau situated along the Pearl River Delta within an hour of Hong Kong by ferry. The centre was completed in December 2009 and dedicated by President Hu Jin Tao on the occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of the former Portuguese colony’s return to Chinese sovereignty. The 23,000-sq. meter centre is the house of interactive exhibition galleries and also advanced conference facilities and seminar rooms. The centre has a 150-seat planetarium with a hemispherical screen equipped with high resolution 3D digital projectors. The building has many playful volumes that consist of a rhomboid, a dome and a tilted cone. These volumes are designed to articulate the functional program, exploit its waterfront setting and to become an instant and enduring landmark of Macao.
The plan is organized around clear pathways and choices intended to orient and enliven the experience of scientific discovery and to encourage multiple visits. Modulations of ceiling height, of color and light levels, and of geometry intensify the anticipation and enjoyment of exhibits. The relationship of human achievement and knowledge to the real world is illuminated by portals to the sea and sky. An observation deck invites visitors to take in a 360-degree view of the water and the city at its summit. Shimmering aluminum that responds to and reflects the ever-changing atmosphere of Macau clads the building.
Contributed by Pei Partnership Architects
