The Chendu SF museum was commissioned in 2022 to host this year’s 81st annual World Science Fiction Convention, nicknamed Worldcon. A building of this size and complexity would typically take four to five years to build, says Flores. But the 59,000 square-meter building — which is three times the size of the Sydney Opera House — went from concept to completion in just 12 months.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/30/style/chengdu-science-fiction-museum-hnk-spc-intl/index.html
Stranger than science fiction: Inside China’s newest landmark
The seven-point metallic star floats on the glassy surface of the lake, reminiscent of a far-flung future civilization, or a spaceship touching down on an alien planet. It looks like something straight out of science fiction. Which it is, in a way: it’s the brand new Chengdu Science Fiction Museum in the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China.
From one side, the dynamic roof mimics the sloping mountains in the distance; from another, the canopy takes on the appearance of a cloud, its cantilever arches suspended above seamless panes of glass.
“From every angle, it will always look different; it will always look unusual or unexpected,” said Paulo Flores, one of the project directors at Zaha Hadid Architects, which designed the museum.
Perhaps more unexpected than the design itself is the time it took to build.
The museum was commissioned in 2022 to host this year’s 81st annual World Science Fiction Convention, nicknamed Worldcon. A building of this size and complexity would typically take four to five years to build, says Flores. But the 59,000 square-meter building — which is three times the size of the Sydney Opera House — went from concept to completion in just 12 months.
