Museum of Tomorrow
Santiago Calatrava’s science museum on Rio’s waterfront, exploring the planet’s future.
The Museum of Tomorrow is a science museum on Píer Mauá, on the waterfront of Rio de Janeiro's historic port district. It opened on 17 December 2015 as a centrepiece of Porto Maravilha, the programme to redevelop the port area ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games. The project was developed with support from the Roberto Marinho Foundation and cost roughly 230 million reais. Its stated purpose is to explore how humanity might live over the next fifty years, with particular attention to sustainability and coexistence.
The building was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, who is said to have drawn inspiration from the bromeliads of Rio's Botanical Garden. It covers around 15,000 square metres and rises to about 21 metres, with a long cantilevered roof extending towards Guanabara Bay. Along the roof runs a series of movable solar spines that follow the sun during the day. Water drawn from the bay is used to cool the interior before returning through the reflecting pools that surround the structure.
The main exhibition is arranged as a narrative in five areas: Cosmos, with a 360-degree dome film; Earth, built around three large cubes on matter, life and thought; Anthropocene, with six ten-metre audiovisual totems; Tomorrows, with interactive games; and Us, centred on a carved wooden churinga. These are guided by questions such as where we come from and where we are going. Temporary exhibitions, talks, workshops and accessible tours complement the permanent display throughout the year.
Highlights
- Santiago Calatrava's cantilevered white building on the edge of Guanabara Bay
- Movable solar spines along the roof that track the sun through the day
- Main exhibition in five parts: Cosmos, Earth, Anthropocene, Tomorrows and Us
- 360-degree dome film on the origins of the universe in the Cosmos section
- Reflecting pools and waterfront setting on Praça Mauá and the Olympic Boulevard
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