The Zaha Hadid-Designed Floating Chengdu Science Fiction Museum Will Host Worldcon 2023

Designs have been revealed concerning the Zaha Hadid–designed Chengdu Science Fiction Museum, steadily rising in China to provide the country with a further sensational cultural attraction. The museum is currently under construction, with completion expected later this year. The Chengdu Science Fiction Museum will host the 81st World Science Fiction event, “Worldcon,” and the 2023 Hugo Awards.

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“The museum becomes a ‘star cloud’ that diffuses energy fields into its many distinct zones, directing visitors through a walkway that links our daily experience with our imagination,” as per Zaha Hadid Architects’ words.

The City of Chengdu

Chengdu is known as “China’s main birthplace of fiction.” The new museum, with references to the past, present, and future, intends to become a lively center of innovation and a cultural center for the city.

Surrounded by mountains and woodlands, Chengdu has developed a distinct local culture founded on its rich history, which includes spiritual thoughts and otherworldly forms depicted in the Bronze Age Sanxingdui civilization’s carvings and masks.

Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China, has expanded to a city of over 20 million people and has emerged as a significant global hub of scientific innovation and research.

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Chengdu Science Fiction Museum

The Chengdu Science Fiction Museum is adaptable, allowing it to open its doors to a wide range of exhibitions, conferences, and other events at its location on Jingrong Lake in the Pidu District of the Science & Innovation the New City of Chengdu.

The Chengdu Science Fiction Museum appears to float above the lake’s surface because of its seamless integration into the surrounding natural and cultural environment. Its fluid design, produced through digital modeling analysis, higher prevalence in composition, site conditions, solar irradiation, and structure, fulfilling China’s Green Building Program’s 3-Star standards.

The landscape design takes advantage of the local environment by collecting and storing rainwater for natural filtering and reuse, all surrounded by native shrubs.

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Zaha Hadid Architects said, “The flowing patterns of the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum’s roof extend outward from a central point within, resembling an expanding nebula cloud with a star at its core.”

Also contributing to the museum’s efficiency and sustainability are its natural hybrid ventilation system, the photovoltaics installed in the canopy, and the roof’s overall layout and size.

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The Chengdu Science Fiction Museum’s various points of interest—art museums, theatres, conference rooms, and ancillary spaces—create a hive of activity. The concept offers a route linking the museum’s exhibition galleries, education services, cafes, and other facilities to the city’s infrastructure through alternating indoor and outdoor spaces on different floors.

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The annual convention, which has been going strong since 1939, is widely considered to be the premier gathering of science fiction fans and professionals. The Hugo Awards, given annually at Worldcon by the World Science Fiction Association since 1955 and named after Hugo Gernsback, the pioneering science fiction magazine’s founder, are the highest recognition for science fiction and fantasy literature, as well as work in other media.

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Collaborators on the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum Project

Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Design: Patrik Schumacher
ZHA Project Directors: Satoshi Ohashi, Paulo Flores
ZHA Project Associate: Yang Jingwen
ZHA Project Architects: Juan Liu, Magda Smolinska
ZHA Project Lead: Sven Torres
ZHA Site Team: Meng Zhao
ZHA Project Team: Andrei-Ciprian Cojocaru, Berkin Islam, Chu Zhou, Hao Wen, Jillian Nishi, Lianyuan Ye, Meng Zhao, Shang Li, Stefan Manousof, Sven Torres, Yang Liu, Yuling Ma, Xiaoying Li
ZHA Competition Project Directors: Satoshi Ohashi, Paulo Flores
ZHA Competition Associate: Yang Jingwen
ZHA Competition Project Architects: Juan Liu, Magda Smolinska
ZHA Competition Team: Andrei-Ciprian Cojocaru, Enoch Kolo, Jillian Nishi, Juan Montiel, Lianyuan Ye, Meng Zhao, Nan Jiang, Nastasja Mitrovic, Stefan Manousof, Yanran Lu, Yimeng Zhao, Yuling Ma
ZHA Competition Sustainability Team: Aleksander Mastalski, Carlos Bausa Martinez
Competition Visuals: ATCHAIN

Consultants

Executive Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
Local Architect: China South West Architecture Design Institute
Structural Engineers: China South West Architecture Design Institute
General Contractor: China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group
Façade Engineering: China South West Architecture Design Institute
M&E Engineering: China South West Architecture Design Institute
MEP: China South West Architecture Design Institute
Fire Engineer: China South West Architecture Design Institute
Landscape Consultant: Hangzhou Landscape Design Institute
Lighting Design: LIGHTDESIGN, BPI
Acoustic Consultant: SIADR
Site Supervision: Sichuan Feihong Engineering Management Consulting Co.
Project Management: CR LAND
Interior Local Design Institute: SIADR
Exhibition Design Consultant: Chengdu Science Fiction Society