The city of Ordos, nestled in the desert of Inner Mongolia, is home to a dramatic new museum designed by Chinese firm MAD.
Designed to form part of a future metropolis, the museum was commissioned by the municipal government of Ordos in 2005. The result is a kind of spherical shell, made to act as an enormous incubator of the centuries-old culture and history of the region. Intended to offer refuge from the rationality of the outside urban city, the museum has become a popular gathering space for locals.