Shanghai Astronomy Museum | GRC Cladding

Shanghai Astronomy Museum, with 39,000 square meters, is the largest museum worldwide solely dedicated to the study of astronomy. Designed by Ennead Architects and Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research, Shanghai Planetarium completely avoids the straight lines and right angles, leveraging the extensive curving lines to fully reflect the shapes, movement and geometry of the universe. Manufactured and installed by Shanghai Zhuo Ou Construction, total 4000 sqm grey GRC claddings spiraling up from the entrance were made with Aalborg White cement, perfectly outlining celestial movement orbit.

The GRC claddings, based on irregular shapes including curved surface, arc surface and sphere, puts forward higher requirements on the dimension measurement and accurate production. Long trapezoidal GRC panels are up to 5.6m height, connected with Invisible silicone seams.

The monumental new museum creates an immersive experience that places visitors in direct engagement with real astronomical phenomena. Through scale, form, and the manipulation of light, the building heightens awareness of our fundamental relationship to the sun and the earth’s orbital motion.