A Museum of Tomorrow is at the centre of a £1.36bn facelift of Rio de Janeiro’s once-dingy port district
The Museu do Amanhã, which opened its doors to visitors in December, takes as inspiration the idea that contemporary society remains a work in progress.
The £40m, modernist museum has been variously described as resembling a dinosaur and an aeroplane wing, and bristles with solar ‘spines’. It uses breezes and deep water currents from Rio’s Guanabara Bay to provide ecofriendly cooling.
Inside, ideas rather than objects are showcased, with visitors wandering through audio-visual displays – from an egg-shaped cinema to a digital Stonehenge – that explore issues ranging from deforestation to DNA.
Museum communications manager Juliana Tinoco told Positive News that visitors are urged to consider how their actions can help build a better tomorrow.
“This is one path that humankind has been taking, but there are others,” Tinoco said. “Tomorrow is not a given – it’s something we’re building.”
Photo: Byron Prujansky
