OPEN architecture envisions Shenzhen maritime museum as glass icebergs

With the project, the design team seeks to raise awareness of the issues of global warming

Spotted: Beijing studio OPEN Architecture has created six glass structures shaped to resemble icebergs, stationed in Shenzhen Bay. The visual concept was created as an entry for the International Architecture Design Competition at Shenzhen Maritime Museum.

The proposal comprises six glass iceberg volumes that rise from the subtropical waters of Shenzhen Bay. With the project, the design team seeks to raise awareness of the issues of global warming, offering a gentle reminder that the reality of melting icebergs is not as distant as we might feel.

Connecting each individual iceberg are dry pathways for guests to walk through, surrounded by the waters of Shenzhen Bay. At night, the icebergs light up, resembling those in the Arctic region. Inside each one, guests will find the museum layout as usual. With mangrove wetlands working as a protective barrier for the museum, they will also provide a home for the area’s natural marine life and bird populations.

The competition indicates the beginning of a larger design project, making the Maritime Museum the first of ten new cultural facilities currently in the works in the city. The final chosen design will present itself as a prominent landmark amidst the developing coastal region.

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