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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Xiaoying You

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

Aerial shot looking directly down at the egg-shaped oval structures
The renowned Beijing-based architecture firm Turenscape came up with the museum’s bold design. Photograph: Turenscape

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.

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