Interactive in its approach, the museum exhibition incorporates a variety of solutions that engages the senses. From digital displays, describing the molecular makeup of the medium, to easy-to-understand graphics, visitors are guided through the history of glass in China. Younger visitors are encouraged to discover the many applications of glass through fun installations, while in an integrated live workshop, visitors can admire the art of flame-working by watching the craftsman at work. The idea of the ‘living’ museum is translated into integrated event spaces in the museum’s Main Hall, as well as a rich program of museum activities.

Visitors enter the Shanghai Museum of Glass Main Hall through a kaleidoscopic entrance, one of the iconic installations that COO has created for the museum’s main exhibition space. Sitting at the very spot of the glass-making kiln in the former factory is an interactive media installation ‘Fusion’, which translates viewers’ movements into dynamic visualisation of material and element, letting visitors experience three significant sensations during the formation of glass. In the centre of the Main Hall, animated lines of LED lights showing the history of glass manufacturing in Shanghai shoot out from the ground as if they are the residual heat of the kiln radiating from the past.Instead of a static space that displays objects, the Shanghai Museum of Glass is a growing platform that houses not only knowledge, inspirations but also all the events that take place here. An illuminated elevated house of glass shelters a piece of unusual artwork, a pair of broken glass wings, originally titled ‘Angel is Waiting’. Unfortunately, part of this beautiful work of art was deliberately damaged by a group of visitor and cannot be repaired. Despite the frustration and heartache, the artist and the museum decided to display the piece in the damaged form, hoping that it will serve as a warning and a reminder that everyone partaking in a cultural visit should respect and care for the artists’ work. The artist renamed this piece of work ‘Broken’, giving a new layer of meaning and deeper significance — any damage will eventually enrich the narrative as a whole.

Through collaborations with renowned national and international artists, the Shanghai Museum of Glass has created a platform for art and the material. The artwork displayed at the entrance of the Main Hall, titled ‘Warm Currents’, is a large circular structure consisting of glass beakers and vials slowly rotating in two directions with pink florescent fluid running inside. This impressive artwork is a collaboration between the museum and renowned artist Lin Tianmiao, and it has become part of the museum’s permanent collection.

Involved from the very beginning, COO collaborated with museum President Zhang Lin to create a cultural destination that goes beyond the traditional showcase. The museum is globally significant in its approach and sets a new standard for museums in China.