Hailed by National Geographic as one of the most beautiful museums in the World, we created a fitting and innovative mounded setting and arrival experience for this truly iconic building that tells the human story of the future.

This unique, innovative and sustainable landscape is in keeping with the overarching goals of the iconic Museum of the Future. We worked closely with Killa Architectural Design on the complex forms and engineering systems. Due to the nature of the design, the landscape and architecture are highly integrated, with the landscape forming the ‘skin’ of the museum buildings located below the ‘mound’, including exhibition spaces, back of house facilities and parking. The illusion created is that of a sculptural building resting lightly on the landscape. The mound provides a distinct and arresting counterpoint to the intensely urban context, and is designed to allow visitors to climb through and up to experience an unusual view of the surrounding city. 

Standard landscape techniques for soil and planting medium retention could not be used on the steep mound; green wall technology together with a recycled material geocell system were used to retain and stabilise the slopes in conjunction with specialised smart irrigation drip-line systems using grey/treated sewage water. All of these elements were contained within an engineered ‘sandwich’ that clothed the mound in a living green carpet. 

Most of the plant species used are native or drought/salt tolerant, are perfectly adapted to local environmental conditions and require minimal water/fertilizer to sustain them. The trees produce masses of nectar rich flowers supporting native bees, and seasonal fruits for wild bird populations.