Macau Science Center

The Macau Science Center is a state-of-the-art educational and cultural facility located at the gateway to this special administrative region of China, situated along the Pearl River Delta within an hour of Hong Kong by ferry. Completed in December 2009, the facility was dedicated by President Hu Jin Tao on the occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of the former Portuguese colony’s return to Chinese sovereignty.

LOCATION: Macau SAR China

CLIENT: Macau Foundation

SIZE: 2,475,67 SQ.FT/23,000 SQ.M

STATUS: Completed 2009

CATEGORY: Cultural

IMAGES: Kerun Ip, Kristopher Grunert

The 23,000-sq.-meter (250,000-sq. foot) center is clad in aluminum and houses interactive exhibition galleries, advanced conference facilities and seminar rooms, and a 150-seat planetarium with a hemispherical screen equipped with high-resolution 3-D digital projectors. At its summit, an observation deck provides a 360-degree view toward the water and the city. The building’s playful volumes, consisting of a rhomboid, a dome and a tilted cone, are designed to articulate the functional program and exploit its waterfront setting, and it stands as an 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. Throughout, portals to the sea and sky illuminate the relationship between human achievement and knowledge to the natural world.