ennead architects’ performing arts center will occupy two golden volumes in shenzhen

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Ennead Architects designs Shanghai Astronomy Museum to "echo the essence of the Universe"

New York studio Ennead Architects has completed the world's largest museum dedicated to astronomy in Shanghai, China.

Designed to reflect the shapes and geometry within the universe, the form of the recently opened museum in Shanghai has no straight lines or right angles.

Ennead Architects designed the recently opened Shanghai Astronomy Museum

"The foundational design concept of the Shanghai Astronomy Museum was to abstractly embody within the architecture some of the fundamental laws of astrophysics, which are the rule in space," explained Ennead Architects design partner Thomas J Wong.

"To the extent possible, we wanted this building to echo the essence of the universe and there are no straight lines or right angles in space!" he continued.

"Once we embraced the idea of a set of curvilinear forms, we capitalized on every opportunity to make it the very basis of the building and experience."

The astronomy museum was informed by the "geometry of the universe"

Located in the Lingang area of Shanghai, the new museum forms part of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, and at 39,000 square metres is said to be the "largest museum worldwide solely dedicated to the study of astronomy".

Ennead Architects designed the building around three distinct architectural forms that were each derived from the movement of bodies within the universe.

The Oculus projects a circle of light on the entrance plaza

"We are within a universe that is continuously in motion, something as essential as it is easy to overlook," said Wong. "The notion of orbital motion and its relationship to time became a primary source of architectural inspiration."

"There are three primary design elements that define the building parts and also provide an architectural lens for observing the earth's own orbital motion: the inverted dome, the planetarium sphere, and the Oculus," he added.

The circular opening is clad in golden panels

The museum is split into two large rounded volumes, one of which overhangs a plaza and reflecting pool in front of the main entrance to the museum.

A circular opening within this cantilevered volume, named "The Oculus", was designed to show the passing of time. At midday on the summer solstice, a full circle is projected on a black platform built within the plaza.

"We designed this building with a real awareness of the visitor's journey from start to finish and wanted to provide several moments of impact and reflection along the way," said Wong.

"Before even entering the building, one is greeted by a heroic cantilever, which extends some 40 meters beyond the vertical concrete piers which support it."

The entrance hall is topped with an inverted dome

The main entrance leads to a large entrance hall and reception, which contains a curving ramp that leads to the various exhibitions and is topped with an inverted dome.

Created as the culmination to the sequence of galleries, a rooftop space on top of the inverted dome has an "unimpeded view of the sky".

"The approach and entry sequence were carefully crafted choreography, where one senses the force of compression while travelling underneath the entry cantilever, only to emerge in a light-filled swirling space that brings your gaze upward," explained Wong.

"A monumental concrete tripod soars overhead in the main atrium and cradles the spiralling ramp as well as the thin membrane of the inverted dome, a tension structure through which the dappled sun flows."

The planetarium is in a sphere-shaped form

The majority of the gallery spaces are positioned on one side of the entrance hall, with the planetarium theatre located on the other.

Set in a sphere that is suspended above a small auditorium by three concrete supports, the planetarium was designed to have an immediate visual impact.

It is suspended above the ground

"Another moment of impact within the Shanghai Astronomy Museum occurs with the weightless suspension of the sphere, gradually revealed as one approaches from the atrium and visually defying all sense of gravity," said Wong.

"Embedded in the roof plane of the lower museum wing, as if rising out of the Earth-bound horizon, the sphere gradually emerges into view as one rounds the building from the outside, the drama unfolding as though one were approaching a planet from one of its moons."

A rooftop space was designed for looking at the sky

Wong hopes that the building will supplement the exhibitions in helping visitors understand the universe.

"Part of what was driving our thinking when developing the design for the Shanghai Astronomy Museum was how we could supplement the gallery content and create a building that made people more aware of the sky above – one that didn't just house exhibits about space, but put visitors into a direct engagement with the stars,"

Whatever their age or education level, people can observe and hopefully understand more about some very basic underpinnings of astronomy through a series of direct, physical experiences," he continued. "Space can seem so abstract – we wanted to provide something that was tangible and exciting."

Photography is by ArchExists.

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world’s largest astronomy museum, designed by ennead architects, opens in shanghai

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Triangular glass panels wrap Knight Center at the University of Oregon

A double-skin glass facade envelops the Knight Center, an Oregon research facility designed by American firms Ennead Architects and Bora Architecture & Interiors.

The building – officially called the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact – is located on the University of Oregon's campus in Eugene.

Angled glass panels designed to look like "water cascading over rock"

The project was made possible by a $500 million (£359 million) gift from Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny. Over the years, Phil Knight has been a significant contributor to the university, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1959.

The new academic facility brings together researchers from multiple disciplines, including engineering, applied sciences and business.

The Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact was funded by Nike's co-founder

Two firms were commissioned to design the project – New York's Ennead Architects and Bora Architecture & Interiors, which is based in Portland, Oregon.

"Our goal for the Knight Campus was the creation of a humanistic research machine," said design partner at Ennead Architects Todd Schliemann.

"One that supports practical needs and aesthetic aspirations, but more importantly, one that inspires the people who work in it, those that move through it, and those that simply pass by."

Glass defines the Knight Center's facade

Encompassing 160,000 square feet (14,864 square metres), the facility consists of two, L-shaped buildings that are connected by a glazed volume. Both buildings rise four levels.

The two buildings are organized around a central courtyard that is topped with a canopy made of ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene). The transparent covering provides rain protection while allowing light to pass through.

The courtyard is sheltered by a transparent rain shield

The facility's southern elevation features a distinctive, double-skin facade with triangular glass panels. The design alludes to moving water, such as the Willamette River, which passes through campus.

"Sunlight floods the interior through a skin of folded-glass panels, emulating water cascading over rock formations and offering views that invite the outdoors inside," the team said of the facade.

The Knight Center is designed to foster openness

Also on the south is a glazed pedestrian bridge that stretches over a street, connecting the facility to other research buildings on campus.

The bridge has two splayed arches that spring from a common support point on each side of the road. The walkway enclosure is supported by tension cables.

"The bridge has a tied arch design that is self-supporting, simple, symmetrical and visually light," the team said.

Once inside the building, visitors encounter light-filled rooms that are designed to foster interactivity.

The ground level encompasses a variety of spaces, including a lecture hall, a training room and social zones. On the upper levels, one finds laboratories, classrooms and communal areas.

Workplaces are designed to be flexible

Certain areas have 21-foot-high (6.4-metre) ceilings, allowing for the insertion of mezzanines made of mass timber. These intermediate levels hold offices for faculty members.

Workspaces were designed to be flexible, transparent and efficient. In the labs, the teams placed a glazed wall between write-up desks and the lab bench area. Traditionally, desks are incorporated into lab benches.

The Knight Center facility includes laboratory spaces

"This transparency not only promotes communication in the labs, but it heightens building performance," the team said. "By reducing the volume of the bench areas, fewer air changes are necessary, and energy usage is diminished."

Other elements that help reduce energy consumption include active chilled beams and a heat recovery chiller. The facility is aiming for LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council.

Splayed arches and tension cables of the pedestrian bridge

Ennead, formerly known as Polshek Partnership, was started in 1963 by James Stewart Polshek.

The firm has completed a number of academic projects, including a law school in Phoenix with sandstone cladding and sky bridges, and an engineering school in Austin that features a giant metal lattice.

Photography is by Bruce Damonte.

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