The National Maritime Museum of China is justified in its ‘landmark’ status. It is a remarkable building borne of a remarkable process.
– Brendan Gaffney

The National Maritime Museum of China, designed by COX Architecture, has opened in Tianjin after a six-year design and construction process.

Covering an area of 80,000sq m (860,000sq ft) on the waterfront, the three-storey museum comprises four long main volumes that are joined together by interconnected spaces.

This design was inspired by ideas of jumping carp, corals, starfish, moored ships and an open palm.

The volumes cantilever and fan out over the water, with an overhang of 42m (138ft) at one point, and contain six display areas and 15 exhibition halls.

Parametric computer modelling was used to resolve the scale and detail of the project, geometric algorithms to determine the curvature of the building's shell and its related cladding system and physical models to understand its human scale.

The sophisticated form is wrapped in an aluminium and glazed façade, while geothermal energy drawn from 100m (330ft) below is the primary source of power for the building.

Brendan Gaffney, national director of COX, said: "The National Maritime Museum of China is justified in its ‘landmark’ status. It is a remarkable building borne of a remarkable process.

"It is a project that’s totally at home on the global stage. It is testament to the commitment of our open-minded and collaborative client and to our team, whose talent and tenacity in equal measure ensured this building stayed true to its vision in every possible detail."