Location: Nanjing, China.

Architect: Studio Odile Decq.

The Tangshan Museum is a part of a larger development plan for an important archaeological site where the Homo Erectus Nankinensis skulls were discovered in 1993. The museum’s design is based on the topographical curved lines of the site, creating a seamless interaction between the museum and the site. The museum’s design includes a main theater, a 4D cinema, a restaurant, café, and gift shops. The museum’s inner display is a translation of the geological revelation of the site, with each floor widely open to the main façade. The back of the museum contains technical services, lifts, emergency exits, and services. The museum’s promenade allows for different museographic scales, allowing visitors to have more or less long or short visits and changing their relation to the outside. The museum’s design is protected by a huge stone-layered screen and is clearly perceptible through the glass facades in-between the different layers of curved lines.

Photo credit: Roland Halbe.