The Shenzhen Natural History Museum will open to the public on July 28 as the first dedicated large-scale institution of its kind in southern China.Spearheaded by the Shenzhen government with a total investment of 3.5 billion yuan (US$517 million) – excluding the cost of collecting artefacts – the museum, located in the Pingshan district in the northeast of the city, is among its “Ten Cultural Facilities of the New Era”.The Shenzhen Natural History Museum is located on a 42,000-square-metre (450,000 sq ft) site, with a total floor area of 105,300 square metres. It was designed by Danish architectural firm 3XN, Canada-based B+H Architects and Chinese firm Zhubo Design in a consortium selected through a competition that drew more than 70 proposals from around the world.YouTube video playerInspired by the form of a river delta, the building has a free-flowing, curvilinear structure that features a walkable green rooftop park and houses permanent and temporary exhibition galleries, research laboratories, a 1,100-seat nature theatre and three cinemas.