Shanghai Natural History Museum has moved into its new home – a nautilus-shaped building inspired by the biological structure of cells, the elements and natural phenomena.

Designed by Perkins + Will, the green structure mimics architectural themes found in nature. The main area of the 479,000sq ft (44,500sq m) exhibition space rises from the site’s foundations, spiralling upwards like a shell. Within the nautilus-shaped structure, light is dispersed through a lattice designed to project patterns mimicking the shape and organisation of living cells.

The nature theme runs across the design, with the museum's eastern face a ‘living wall’, while the northern facade has been designed to resemble canyon walls eroded by rivers and shifting tectonic plates.

The building – which includes exhibit spaces, a 4D theatre, an outdoor exhibit garden, and a 30m (98ft) tall atrium – has also been designed with sustainability in mind. The facility can recycle rainwater through its roof, as well as minimise hot temperatures using an intelligent building skin to minimise solar gain. All of the museum’s energy features are part of exhibits which explain its story.

“The use of cultural references found in traditional Chinese gardens was key to the design,” said Ralph Johnson, principal at Perkins + Will. “Through its integration with the site, the building represents the harmony of humanity and nature and is an abstraction of the basic elements of Chinese art and design.”

The new facility is in downtown Shanghai’s Jing An District within the Jing An Sculpture Park. The museum will display 10,000 pieces, including its signature 140-million-year-old Mamenchisaurus skeleton, which is on prominent display at the building’s entrance. The new space is around 20 times larger than that of its home since 1956 – the Shanghai Cotton Exchange.