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Shanghai Museum of Glass opens in Baoshan District
Opened on the 18th May this year, the Shanghai Museum of Glass in the Baoshan District is the result of a collaborative effort between architecture experts logon and exhibition interior designer Coordination Asia. Sprawling over a former glass manufacturing site totalling 29,612 sq m, the 5,785 sq m Shanghai Museum of Glass is the first stage in a four-phase plan to complete G+ Glass Theme Park (Glass, Art, Research and Technology Park). The 20 year strategic plan drawn up by logon incorporates a sculpture yard, science park, and business park, with supporting commercial facilities to be completed by 2018.
Externally the mass of the building is formed of dark U-shaped glass imported from Germany, which has been delicately sand blasted and enamelled to create a number of transparent glass-related words in a wide variety of languages. During the evening, the building volume glows from within, illuminating this text with an LED backlight against the largely black background. In direct contrast to this is the Coordination Asia-designed entrance plaza, which is light and airy with high ceilings and sharp edges ensuring that the face of the museum complex is easily recognisable.
Although the facility has been marketed as a museum, it is in fact a ‘Type Two Museum’. As such, its remote location dictates that the activities and entertainment on offer must be gripping enough to encourage visitors to make the long trip to the site. In response to this, the Shanghai Museum of Glass offers a themed exhibition, hot glass shows, DIY workshops, educational lectures, libraries and interactive activities. logon explains: “It’s sustainable adaptive reuse design and modern feel incorporate old and new ideas making it the first of its kind in China.”
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