Lee Kong Chian
Natural History
Museum
Location
SingaporeClient
National University of SingaporeSurface area
2,200 m² / 23,680 sq ftCompletion date
2015
The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum’s brand new building houses the world’s largest collection of specimens from Southeast Asia.
GSM Project was commissioned to conceptualize the narrative and develop the design of the museum’s public galleries.
With its roots as a university museum and a research centre, the oldest museum institution in Singapore came looking for a facelift to coincide with its move to a new building. We had to find ways to marry the museum’s significant scientific knowledge with new narratives and contemporary design strategies that would engage visitors.
After a few months of operations, the LKCNHM had already emerged as a global landmark in the field of natural history museums and one of Singapore’s most popular visitor destinations.
We did not want to become a zoo attraction. To me, an exhibition design should always leave some space for imagination and contemplation.
Laura Miotto
Exhibition Designer, GSM Project
GSM Project collaborated closely with the museum’s curators and conservators, whose magic hands revitalized and restored over 2000 specimens from the museum’s unrivalled scientific collection: from microscopic organisms to giant dinosaur skeletons, and everything in between.
Summary
The biodiversity gallery showcases the variety of life native to the region, with thousands of specimens and fossils on display, including three immense dinosaur skeletons from 150 million years ago. Meanwhile, the heritage gallery upstairs shows how the museum’s collection is tied to the city’s history.