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MAD completes bulbous Hainan Science Museum clad in silver polymer panels

architecture-design · 2026-05-13

MAD has completed the Hainan Science Museum in Haikou, China, a bulbous structure clad with 843 silver-toned fibre-reinforced polymer panels. Located near the Wuyuan River National Wetland Park, the 46,528-square-metre museum houses four exhibition floors connected by a spiralling walkway, plus a planetarium, amphitheatre, cinema, and sunken courtyard. Founder Ma Yansong designed the open-plan galleries to flow into one another, emphasizing curiosity over fact delivery in the age of AI. The building sits on Haikou's seafront alongside MAD's earlier Cloudscape of Haikou library.

Key facts

  • 843 silver-toned fibre-reinforced polymer panels clad the exterior
  • 46,528 square metres of public space
  • Four exhibition floors connected by a spiralling walkway
  • Includes a planetarium, amphitheatre, cinema, and sunken courtyard
  • Located near Wuyuan River National Wetland Park in Haikou
  • Designed by MAD founder Ma Yansong
  • Themes per floor: deep space, ocean, Hainan's rainforests, tropical agriculture
  • Adjacent to MAD's Cloudscape of Haikou library

Entities

Artists

Institutions

Locations

  • Haikou
  • China
  • Hainan
  • Wuyuan River National Wetland Park
  • Changxiu District
  • Los Angeles
  • Seoul
  • Zhejiang
  • Lishui

Sources