Located within the Huqiu wetland landscape of Suzhou, the Huqiu Science Popularisation Education Base is a large-scale science, education, and public landscape project designed to function as both a regional destination and a long-term environmental framework. Covering a site area of 980 hectares, the development comprises a network of thematic science pavilions, landscape infrastructure and public amenities embedded within the existing wetland ecosystem. The centre is conceived as a future-facing science and learning environment that integrates research, exhibition, leisure, and ecological stewardship.

SPARK Architects designed the master plan, environmental and spatial design, as well as a series of pavilions aligning as a gesamtkunstwerk the architecture, landscape and scientific programming.

[01.Masterplan]

The masterplan establishes a clear framework capable of guiding long-term development while preserving the site’s rural and ecological character. Working at a vast scale, the plan seeks to unify diverse programs, landscapes, and visitor experiences into a cohesive whole. It draws on research into historic Chinese gardens, the Anglo-Chinese landscape tradition, and international science park precedents, where the design translates these influences into a contemporary planning model that prioritises walkability, orientation, and human-scale experience. The final proposal balances programmatic clarity with flexibility, allowing diverse attractions and future growth to coexist within the spatial structure.

At the core of the master plan is a symbolic organisational structure inspired by the human body. A principal arrival zone and science agora forms the “head” of the education base, the primary point of orientation and entry. Water bodies are positioned as the “heart,” shaping social, ecological, and visual focus, while a network of green routes and pavilion buildings operate as the “lungs,” supporting circulation, learning, and exchange. This framework allows visitors to intuitively navigate the site while experiencing a sequence of landscapes, architectural moments, and scientific encounters that unfold over time.

[02.Three Zones, Ten Venues]

SPARK's masterplan creates three zones: The Law of Energy, Natural Evolution, and Digital Future. Together, they invite visitors into a science adventure of infinite possibilities — a place to explore, learn, and play across three extraordinary themed worlds. Key attractions are conceived as lightweight pavilions that respond directly to the wetland context. Organically distributed across the site, the ten scientific venues form a continuous science exploration path that ties together the three zones.

• Integrated Science Centre: origins of science, AI interaction, dancing with robots
• Sound Box: an innovative sound hub exploring the mysteries of sounds
• Traffic Tour Centre: future mobility across land, water, and air
• Super Garden: living plant lab & greenhouse garden
• NANO Lab: molecular & nano lab
• CO2 Grab Gallery: carbon cycle eco-experience pavilion
• Vertical Farming: tech-driven agricultural lab
• Digital City Lab: future digital city experience centre
• Electromagnetics Base: electromagnetic discovery base
• STEAM Hub: interdisciplinary education platform

Their forms, inspired by the wetland's aquatic creatures, give the Huqiu Science Popularisation Education Base a uniquely recognizable identity. Together these 10 pavilions function both as architectural structures and as demonstrative scientific devices, embedding learning and experimentation into the visitor experience.

[03. Six Interactive Installations]

The Huqiu Science Popularisation Education Base also offers diverse interactive outdoor installations: a solar-powered flower ocean art installation, ETFE membrane floating flower-shaped units, a Living Machine that showcases the cycle of life, eco-friendly forest treehouses, a power-generating running trail, and the Pearl where holographic projection technology brings science to life.

Among these, the living machine is designed as a system to manage human waste and other bi-products from the pavilions. It treats wastewater through aerobic and anaerobic processes, with aerobic digester tanks forming a healthy growing substrate for vegetables and plants. As part of the public educational narrative, exhibitions demonstrate how clean water is returned to the wetland while integrating aquaponic planting, helping to mainstream biomimicry and biophilic principles in design.

Pedestrian paths, cycling routes, viewing platforms, wayfinding, and pop-up installations are woven into the landscape to encourage exploration, pause, and discovery, reinforcing the project’s identity as both a scientific and cultural landscape.

The Huqiu Science Popularisation Education Base proposes a new model for science-led development, one in which environmental systems, architecture, and human experience are inseparable. Through a research-driven and environmentally grounded approach, SPARK Architects’ intent is to create a resilient, non-invasive, adaptive, and enduring public landscape that demonstrates how science, design, and ecology can converge to support innovation, education, and the long-term stewardship of Suzhou’s most significant wetland environments.