and water from the adjacent bay cools the museum and feeds its surrounding pools before returning to the sea.
The project brought together architects, researchers and government to create a space where climate change and the Earth's future are its core focus. "We thought, why not make the social and political discussion of sustainability the main approach of a museum?" says Hugo Barreto, secretary general at the Roberto Marinho Foundation, which oversaw the building's development and partly funded its construction.
an egg-shaped auditorium showing a 360° film about the Universe. In another, six ten-metre pillars display images and data that demonstrate humans' impact on the planet.
By using interactive exhibits and discussion, it encourages visitors to ponder the planet's future -- something the museum emphasises as a current concern. "The idea of 'tomorrow' brings a kind of proximity to the idea," Barreto says. "The future isn't far from what we are doing now."