Wave Cube is a 29,700 m² cultural project on the east shore of Jinhai Lake in Shanghai’s Fengxian District, designed by Scenic Architecture Office. Its wave-shaped concrete form is organized as three layers: exhibition and service spaces below, a sheltered public void in the middle, and a pavilion above. The project’s defining construction challenge was turning that flowing geometry into a buildable reinforced-concrete structure while accommodating spans and cantilevers reported at approximately 54 m and 27 m.
What and where is Wave Cube?
Wave Cube is a cultural and theme-park project on a circular peninsula at Jinhai Lake in Fengxian New City, Shanghai. Its site is nearly square, with water on the east and west sides. The project listing records an area of 29,700 m² and a project year of 2025. World-Architects describes it as a science-fiction museum associated with the Three-Body Future Academy; its feature places the building on the lake’s east shore and reports that Scenic Architecture Office won the design competition in collaboration with Tongji Architectural Design Group.
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The project team listed by the architect includes Shanghai Construction Group Co., Ltd. as general contractor, AND Office as structural consultant, Growdesign Co. Ltd. for landscape design, Shanghai Fengxian New City Construction and Development Co., Ltd. as client, and Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co. Ltd. as local design institute. Zhu Xiaofeng is named design principal and Zhang Zhun structural principal. The project feature and World-Architects’ account provide the project and program context.
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The architects describe the design as an interpretation of waves and Shanghai’s water-rich, relatively flat landscape. Rather than placing a conventional object on the site, they shaped the building as an artificial hill: an approximately 80 m × 80 m × 20 m portion extracted from a larger wave-like form. These are approximate design dimensions reported in the project account, not independent measurements.
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The resulting composition has three named layers:
- Green Hills: Eight lower concrete shells enclose exhibition halls, cafés, bars, cultural and creative shops, and mechanical rooms.
- Vaulted Void: A continuous sheltered public realm sits above and between the lower shells. The project account says the central void and perimeter spaces let the lakeside promenade pass beneath the building, connecting covered public space to the surrounding landscape.
- Wave Pavilion: The upper undulating layer completes the wave form and sits above the sheltered void.
Skylights bring light into the interior and, according to the project feature, also support smoke extraction and natural ventilation. The arrangement therefore combines enclosed program, covered circulation and a route through the building rather than treating them as separate site elements.
What structural system supports the wave form?
The design account reports an amplitude of approximately 12 m, a span of approximately 54 m, and cantilevers of about 27 m. These dimensions created a problem for a conventional compressed-shell solution: the project team says a standard shell arch would have needed more rise and shell thickness than the desired geometry allowed.
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The architects began with a three-dimensional model developed from sinusoidal curves. Structural consultant Zhang Zhun and his team then explored how the form could work. Their approach combined the behavior of a vaulted shell with that of folded planes. The team used faceted surfaces to identify possible force paths before transforming those planes into curved shells. The resulting hybrid uses reinforced concrete to carry compression and prestressing to provide tension capacity.
This distinction matters: the building’s smooth exterior does not mean it behaves as a simple thin shell. The project account describes a structural form developed to address gravity, lateral forces and cantilever loads through the combined geometry, concrete and prestressing. The published material explains the design intent, but does not provide an independent structural performance dataset.
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How was the complex concrete geometry built?
Scaffolding and cast-in-place formwork
The construction team chose high-density scaffolding to support cast-in-place formwork instead of 3D-printed formwork, which the project account says was declined on cost grounds. The reported scaffolding grid measured 600 mm × 600 mm, tightened to 300 mm × 300 mm in more complex areas. The denser support helped carry the changing geometry of the formwork while concrete was placed.
As circular steel shaping pipes could move under load, the construction team developed a custom limiting component described in the feature as a “gripper.” Temporary bracing and scaffolding remained essential during construction; the project account says the structure needed those supports until concrete placement and stressing of the tendons closed the structural system.
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Managing the long cantilevers
The northeast and southwest corners have reported cantilevers of approximately 27 m. At their ends, the team used two lattice steel columns to carry vertical loads and address concrete creep, crack widths and curtain-wall displacement limits. The project feature reports that monitoring found final cantilever settlement within design limits. This is the project team’s reported outcome, not an independently published measurement.
Concrete finishes and protective coatings
Cast-in-place concrete is exposed across many interior and exterior surfaces. The project description also notes a translucent concrete sealer on selected façades, shear walls and cores. Beneath the upper shell, a dark grey protective coating is used; portions of the underside of the lower shell have an iridescent protective coating.
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What is the Three-Body connection?
World-Architects identifies Wave Cube as a science-fiction museum connected to the Three-Body Future Academy and discusses Liu Cixin’s trilogy in that context. That establishes a programmatic association, not a claim that visitors need to read the novels or that the building sells them. Readers interested in the literary background can consult World-Architects’ feature; the project sources do not establish current opening status, hours, ticketing, public-access arrangements or visitor rules.
Project record and sources
The project listing and architectural feature are published by ArchDaily, while World-Architects supplies additional context about the museum program and competition. Photographs in the project listing are credited to Shengliang Su and Guowei Liu.
Quick Recap
- ArchDaily: Wave Cube / Scenic Architecture Office — project description, design, structural approach, construction and project team.
- World-Architects: The Three-Body Problem: Trapped in a Wave Sandwich — museum and Three-Body Future Academy context; published 13 April 2026.
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