Shenzhen Maritime Museum as a Natural Encounter

Shenzhen Maritime Museum is located in a beautiful environment between the mountains of the Dapeng Peninsula and the sea of Longqi Bay of Shenzhen, China. The design designed by SANAA is a public building intended for the general public to enjoy, learn, and communicate with nature, especially those that intersect with the sea. The purpose of SANAA designing this is to create new horizontal landmarks where architecture and landscape blend to create a new type of environment.

Front view Shenzhen Maritime Museum, Source by SANAA

With that goal in mind, making the reason SANAA designed the shape of its building to be naturally formed, SANAA revealed that this building is like a cloud emerging from the sea and washing up on the periphery and forming a new environment that can combine local culture, sites, and the natural environment around it.

Above view Shenzhen Maritime Museum, Source by SANAA

SANAA also designed a space program that allows this new environment to occur when a new environment emerges, where various activities will occur naturally between environments or activities added to support visitors' freedom. In this case, the volume formed will adjust to the activities in it. This also makes the building form more organically, with spherical hemispheres connected.

Interior view Shenzhen Maritime Museum, Source by SANAA

Interior view Shenzhen Maritime Museum, Source by SANAA

To add an organic feel and create a sense of blending, the building is shrouded in semi-transparent material to gently reflect the surrounding scenery and create an emotional closeness between the inner and outer spaces of this building. While in the structure, using a strong frame to withstand the load in a wide stretch, it is possible to get space without obstructions in the middle of the room and, of course, with lightweight material.

Interior view Shenzhen Maritime Museum, Source by SANAA

Interior view Shenzhen Maritime Museum, Source by SANAA

SANAA's Shenzhen Maritime Museum is a way to appreciate and respect nature for sustainability between mountains and the sea and is expected to be a center of the meeting between humans in particular and with nature to just enjoy and gather and to learn more about nature.

Above view Shenzhen Maritime Museum, Source by SANAA