Like dinosaur eggs in the sand: the pterosaur museum built to thrive in the Gobi desert

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The Hami Pterosaur Museum in China’s Gobi Desert is designed to display fossils while coping with an extreme climate. Its underground galleries, light funnels, and solar farms are intended to support sustainable operation in the harsh environment.

How architects worked with harsh environment to create sustainable building in location where fossils were found Viewed from afar, the silver-hued Hami Pterosaur Museum almost looks like a space base on Mars. Viewed from above, it resembles a collection of dinosaur eggs in the sand. Nestled in the Gobi desert, in north-west China, the new tourist attraction showcases hundreds of impressive fossils of pterosaurs, ancient flying reptiles related to dinosaurs. But far from reflecting its prehistoric exhibits, the building itself is a modern-day architectural specimen. Designed with underground exhibition halls, giant light funnels and sprawling solar farms, the museum is able to operate sustainably while withstanding an extremely harsh environment. Continue reading...