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

The renowned Beijing-based architecture firm Turenscape came up with the museum’s bold design. Photograph: Turenscape How architects worked with harsh environment to create sustainable building in location where fossils were found

Prefer the Guardian on Google V iewed 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.