The Natural History Museum in Chengdu, China, designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners and CSWADI, stands out as an impressive architectural work that combines the beauty of art with the magnificence of nature. Made of perforated granite, it resembles six carefully cut rocks whose axes create circulation areas, thanks to a unique and striking architectural design. 

Described by its authors as “rock volumes,” the spaces of this building in the city of Chengdu are covered with profiled granite panels that connect through large, glazed atriums. This allows the splendid structure, inspired by jagged mountain peaks in China’s Sichuan province, to have light and ventilated rooms, while the museum itself resembles a monument. 

Beautiful inside, outside, and around 

The beauty of this cultural space is not limited to its exterior. While the Chengdu Natural History Museum is distinguished by its innovative design and granite structure, which gives it a solid and durable appearance, the construction is a very well thought-out work, which is organized into seven main volumes, designed as interconnecting cut rocks, representing the process of tectonic plate rupture over millions of years. 

These architectural elements are deployed throughout the site (50,000 square meters), creating axes and fluid circulation areas with bridges connecting rooms and passageways evocative of the intricate pathways between the mountains in the background. 

But that’s not all. 

From the east, the museum opens onto landscaped gardens, allowing nature to integrate harmoniously with the structure. To the west, water ponds and a canal guide the visitor along a serene path. In other words, the entire area where the museum is anchored is a sort of urban forest in which the biodiversity of the place is represented. 

A new cultural generation 

This museum was completed in 2022 as part of a developing business center in Chengdu, combining public spaces, stores, and a café with galleries, a cinema, and educational facilities. However, it stands out not only for its architectural design that transforms the city’s skyline and has become a symbol of the city’s energy and innovative spirit but also for its cultural meaning and its focus on education and conservation. 

This museum houses a wide variety of exhibits and collections that highlight the diversity and history of life on Earth. And its main hall was specially designed to be experienced as an adventure: an interactive and inclined space where visitors can walk among dinosaurs placed along the path and suspended from the ceiling. 

This building, which has the Chinese Green Building Design Label 3 Star certification, stands as an architectural monument that young and old will want to visit not only to be delighted by the beauty of its structure but also by the new generation’s educational approach that is housed inside.