A Eulogy to China’s Art Museums.

Many private art museums in China are having trouble admitting they no longer exist

Standing in the ruins of the Arata Isozaki-designed Shanghai Himalayas Museum, I feel oddly at ease. It’s less nerve-racking to confront the skeleton of a dead structure than one that’s half-dead but still trying to revive itself

https://artreview.com/a-eulogy-to-chinas-art-museums-opinion-lai-fei/ #museums #globalmuseum #Chinesemuseums #China

MAD designs cluster of wooden museum buildings to evoke bronze age masks

Chinese architecture studio MAD has released visuals of The Eyes of Sanxingdui, a scatter of wooden buildings it has designed for the Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan City, China.

The Eyes of Sanxingdui will contain new exhibition spaces and a visitor centre for the complex, which is officially called the Sanxingdui Ancient Shu Cultural Heritage Museum.

MAD has designed a series of exhibition spaces for Sanxingdui Museum

As the project name suggests, MAD's design evokes the almond-shaped eyes of bronze age masks excavated from the ancient Sanxingdui archaeological site where the museum is located.

These masks were created by the Sanxingdui civilisation between 4500-2800 years ago and are now on display at the museum alongside many other artefacts discovered in the area.

The cluster of structures will be made from wood

"The Sanxingdui site laid host to a number of cultural relics, including longitudinal bronze eye masks and large bronze standing figures, many of which adopt exaggerated, strange, ornate shapes," explained MAD.

"After sunset, the six buildings are enlivened as torch-like eyes behind the bronzeware and golden masks of Sanxingdui, uniting the spirits and forms, allowing people in the museum to wander between history and the future."

The Eyes of Sanxingdui will run alongside a body of water at the museum

The museum campus is located at the northeast corner of Sanxingdui's main protected area and covers an area of 90,000 square metres.

The Eyes of Sanxingdui will consist of a cluster of six wooden buildings scattered in an east-west direction alongside a body of water and dense greenery on the site.

They are designed to evoke the eyes of bronze age masks found in Sanxingdui

Its easternmost structure will contain the 5,830-square-metre visitor centre. Beyond this will be five exhibition spaces.

Externally, the exhibition spaces will be connected by an undulating green roof, which will be publicly accessible and provide visitors with views of the surrounding landscape.

A skylight will run along the roof of each structure

The decision to divide The Eyes of Sanxingdui into a series of buildings was made to help blend the structures in with the landscape and preserve nature on the site.

They are intended to appear as though they are emerging out from this landscape, with their timber finishes and structures echoing the surrounding trees.

The Eyes of Sanxingdui is designed to complement its natural surroundings

"The scheme respects and preserves the site's natural trees and water features where possible, weaving these natural features into a landscape strategy that remains in harmony with the new pavilion building," MAD explained.

"The intersection of artifacts, atmosphere, and nature will encourage people to experience the Sanxingdui civilization's inscribed influence on contemporary civilization and the human spirit."

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Visitors to the site will begin their journey at The Eyes of Sanxingdui's visitor centre before proceeding through the exhibition halls via an underground corridor.

The exhibition halls will be connected to each other via a south-facing glass corridor, which will frame views of the surrounding landscape.

The skylights will naturally light the interiors

MAD has designed the buildings' timber structures to allow for open column-free interior spaces, accommodating various exhibition layouts.

Natural light will be provided through the rooftop skylights, which evoke the opening of the almond-shaped eyes from above.

The structures will be linked by glass corridors

MAD was founded by Ma Yansong in Beijing in 2004. Elsewhere in China, the studio is currently developing a "futuristic" cruise terminal modelled on gantry cranes and a white cloud-like science museum on the coast.

It recently completed Yabuli Entrepreneurs' Congress Center in the mountains in northeast China and a kindergarten in Beijing with a red rooftop playground.

The visuals are courtesy of MAD.

Project credits:

Architect: MAD
Principal architects: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Competition design team: Tiffany Dahlen, Liu Zifan, Pittayapa Suriyapee, Ma Yiran, Cievanard Nattabowonphal, Luo Man, Chen Hao, Chen Shijie, Wang Shuang, Xiao Yuhan

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Foster + Partners shelters subterranean art gallery with pyramidal roofscape

Four peaks clad in weathering steel cover the underground galleries at the Datong Art Museum, which British architecture studio Foster + Partners has completed in northern China.

The 32,000-square-metre art museum, which is now open in Datong, is designed by Foster + Partners as an "urban living room" with facilities for both artists and the public.

Top image: Foster + Partners has completed the Datong Art Museum in China. Above: it is distinguished by a pyramidal roofscape

It forms part of a new cultural quarter in the city, where there are three other major buildings designed as a creative hub for the region.

Foster + Partners first revealed the design in 2012, with its completion originally slated for 2013, and again in 2020.

The roofscape covers subterranean galleries

"The museum is conceived as a social hub for people – an 'urban living room' for Datong – that brings people, art and artists together in a space where they can interact," explained Luke Fox, head of studio at Foster + Partners.

"Designed for the future, we hope the museum will become the centre of the city's cultural life – a dynamic public destination."

The pyramidal forms are clad in weathering steel

Datong Art Museum is designed a series of four interconnected pyramids that are partly embedded in the ground, intended to evoke rocky peaks emerging upwards.

The pyramids are surrounded by landscaped plazas, which incorporate diagonal paths to the museum's entrance and ramps down to a sunken plaza and amphitheatre.

The interiors are lit by clerestory windows

Foster + Partners chose to embed the museum within the ground to reduce its scale and complement the neighbouring cultural buildings while providing sufficient gallery space.

The form of the pyramidal roofscape, which varies in height, resulted from the building's large structural span that ensures the galleries are flexible and column-free.

Visitors enter the building onto a mezzanine level

The roofscape is clad in weathering-steel plates, which have been arranged in a linear formation to accentuate the shape of the peaks and help drain water.

Between each peak is a clerestory window that draws light inside the subterranean galleries during the day and illuminates the surrounding plaza at night.

[

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Amos Rex's bulging underground galleries create playful landscape in Helsinki plaza

](https://www.dezeen.com/2018/08/27/amos-rex-gallery-art-museum-jkmm-architects-helsinki/)

According to Foster + Partners, these high-level windows are orientated to the north and northwest to minimise solar gain and create a suitable environment for the artwork inside.

Visitors entering the museum are greeted by a mezzanine level that overlooks the Grand Gallery – a 37-metre-high space with a span of 80 metres. This forms the heart of the museum and is used for large-scale artworks, performance art and events.

The galleries feature alongside archival and storage spaces

Surrounding this the Grand Gallery is a series of smaller climate-controlled exhibition spaces, alongside a media library, archive, storage spaces and a cafe and restaurant.

There is also a dedicated gallery and education centre for children, which is lined with tall south-facing windows to maximise sunlight.

Foster + Partners, the studio founded in 1967 by Norman Foster, also recently completed the Narbo Via museum in southern France that is lined by coloured concrete walls.

Other contemporary museums with underground galleries include Amos Rex by JKMM Architects in Helsinki and the Danish National Maritime Museum by BIG in Helsingør.

The photography is by Yang Chaoying.

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MAD designs white cloud-like science museum on Haikou coast

Chinese architecture studio MAD has released visuals of the top-heavy Hainan Science and Technology Museum that it has designed for the coast of Haikou in China.

Slated to open to the public in 2024, the cloud-like museum will encompass 46,528 square metres on a verdant site in the city near a national wetland park.

Above: MAD has unveiled the Hainan Science and Technology Museum. Top image: it will be built on a site in Haikou

The Hainan Science and Technology Museum is being designed by MAD to serve as a major tourist attraction for Haikou, in which visitors can explore science, technology and nature.

It is also the second project designed by the studio in the city to resemble a white cloud, with the other being the recently completed Cloudscape of Haikou, which opened in April 2021.

It will have a top-heavy cloud-like form

"MAD's design for the museum draws from the site's dual urban and natural context," said the studio, which is led by Chinese architect Ma Yansong.

"Set against the backdrop of a rich tropical rainforest, the museum's main pavilion is shaped like a cloud in dialogue with nature," it continued.

"From a distance, the futuristic building appears to emerge from the city, while visitors entering in the museum area witness it floating above the jungle."

A number of outdoor spaces are incorporated into the design

The building's futuristic cloud-like aesthetic will be achieved by MAD by using silvery fibre-reinforced plastic across its exterior.

It will have a top-heavy form, planned around a large central atrium with a domed skylight and bounded by three floor-to-ceiling elevator cores.

A reflective pool will feature outside

Over half of the building's footprint will be dedicated to facilities above ground. The remaining 18,746 square metres of the building will be contained in the basement.

Its main facilities will include permanent exhibition spaces as well as a planetarium, a theatre with a giant screen and a flying theatre – a type of simulator ride.

The building is planned around a large atrium

A ramp that doubles as an exhibition space will play a key role in the building, ascending five floors around the atrium to connect all of the museum's facilities.

MAD has planned for the exhibition experience to begin on the fifth floor, where the elevators will bring visitors to a 360-degree viewing platform overlooking the sea and cityscape.

Visitors will then be invited to descend down the spiralling ramp into the other galleries, which will explore topics ranging from technology and space to life sciences and maths.

The second floor will contain an "interactive experience area" and a children's playground.

The fifth floor will feature panoramic views

Outside, the building will be complete with a canopy that will unwind and project out from the main pavilion in all directions to offer shelter from the city's humid and rainy climate.

There will also be various outdoor public spaces, including a sunken plaza and reflective pool, intended as areas for relaxation.

Some exhibitions will be dedicated to space

MAD was founded by Yansong in Beijing in 2004 by Yansong. It now has offices in Los Angeles, New York and Rome. Elsewhere in China, it is currently developing a multi-purpose cultural centre that was also designed to resemble a floating cloud.

Clouds have proven to be a popular reference for many recent architecture projects in China. SANAA also recently designed a museum in Shenzhen modelled on "clouds emerging from the sea", while Gad Line+ Studio designed a pavilion in Shangdong to mimic "a floating cloud hovering in the mountains".

Project credits:

Architect: MAD
Principal partners: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate partners: Kin Li, Fu Changrui, Tiffany Dahlen
Design team: Wang Yiding, Reem Mosleh, Sun Feifei, Alan Rodríguez Carrillo, Rozita Kashirtseva, Wu Qiaoling, Edgar Navarrete, Zhu Yuhao, Zheng Chengwen, Zhang Yaohui, Li Hui, Yang Xuebing, Dayie Wu, Zhou Haimeng, Lim Zi Han, Yin Jianfeng, Guo Xuan
Client: Hainan Association for Science and Technology
Client representative: Haikou Urban Construction Group Co.,Ltd
Executive architects: C hina Construction Design International (CCDI)
Facade consultant: RFR Shanghai
Landscape consultant: Earthasia Design Group
Interior design consultant: China Construction Design International (CCDI)
Lighting consultant: Beijing Sign Lighting Industry Group
Signage consultant: China Construction Design International (CCDI)
Exhibition consultant: Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.

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The world's largest astronomy museum features in today's Dezeen Weekly newsletter

The latest edition of our Dezeen Weekly newsletter features the world's largest museum dedicated to astronomy, which Ennead Architects has completed in Shanghai.

New York studio Ennead Architects has completed the Shanghai Astronomy Museum in China. Designed to reflect the shapes and geometry of the universe, the museum has no straight lines or right angles.

Readers are amazed. One called it, "pretty spectacular'.

Saint of Athens jewellery store designed to resemble 1960s swimming pool

Other stories in this week's newsletter include a jewellery store in Mykonos designed to resemble a "luxury 60s swimming pool", our round up of 10 bamboo architectures and a cedar bridge in Texas, which was designed to look like a driftwood branch.

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Ennead Architects designs Shanghai Astronomy Museum to "echo the essence of the Universe"

New York studio Ennead Architects has completed the world's largest museum dedicated to astronomy in Shanghai, China.

Designed to reflect the shapes and geometry within the universe, the form of the recently opened museum in Shanghai has no straight lines or right angles.

Ennead Architects designed the recently opened Shanghai Astronomy Museum

"The foundational design concept of the Shanghai Astronomy Museum was to abstractly embody within the architecture some of the fundamental laws of astrophysics, which are the rule in space," explained Ennead Architects design partner Thomas J Wong.

"To the extent possible, we wanted this building to echo the essence of the universe and there are no straight lines or right angles in space!" he continued.

"Once we embraced the idea of a set of curvilinear forms, we capitalized on every opportunity to make it the very basis of the building and experience."

The astronomy museum was informed by the "geometry of the universe"

Located in the Lingang area of Shanghai, the new museum forms part of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, and at 39,000 square metres is said to be the "largest museum worldwide solely dedicated to the study of astronomy".

Ennead Architects designed the building around three distinct architectural forms that were each derived from the movement of bodies within the universe.

The Oculus projects a circle of light on the entrance plaza

"We are within a universe that is continuously in motion, something as essential as it is easy to overlook," said Wong. "The notion of orbital motion and its relationship to time became a primary source of architectural inspiration."

"There are three primary design elements that define the building parts and also provide an architectural lens for observing the earth's own orbital motion: the inverted dome, the planetarium sphere, and the Oculus," he added.

The circular opening is clad in golden panels

The museum is split into two large rounded volumes, one of which overhangs a plaza and reflecting pool in front of the main entrance to the museum.

A circular opening within this cantilevered volume, named "The Oculus", was designed to show the passing of time. At midday on the summer solstice, a full circle is projected on a black platform built within the plaza.

"We designed this building with a real awareness of the visitor's journey from start to finish and wanted to provide several moments of impact and reflection along the way," said Wong.

"Before even entering the building, one is greeted by a heroic cantilever, which extends some 40 meters beyond the vertical concrete piers which support it."

The entrance hall is topped with an inverted dome

The main entrance leads to a large entrance hall and reception, which contains a curving ramp that leads to the various exhibitions and is topped with an inverted dome.

Created as the culmination to the sequence of galleries, a rooftop space on top of the inverted dome has an "unimpeded view of the sky".

"The approach and entry sequence were carefully crafted choreography, where one senses the force of compression while travelling underneath the entry cantilever, only to emerge in a light-filled swirling space that brings your gaze upward," explained Wong.

"A monumental concrete tripod soars overhead in the main atrium and cradles the spiralling ramp as well as the thin membrane of the inverted dome, a tension structure through which the dappled sun flows."

The planetarium is in a sphere-shaped form

The majority of the gallery spaces are positioned on one side of the entrance hall, with the planetarium theatre located on the other.

Set in a sphere that is suspended above a small auditorium by three concrete supports, the planetarium was designed to have an immediate visual impact.

It is suspended above the ground

"Another moment of impact within the Shanghai Astronomy Museum occurs with the weightless suspension of the sphere, gradually revealed as one approaches from the atrium and visually defying all sense of gravity," said Wong.

"Embedded in the roof plane of the lower museum wing, as if rising out of the Earth-bound horizon, the sphere gradually emerges into view as one rounds the building from the outside, the drama unfolding as though one were approaching a planet from one of its moons."

A rooftop space was designed for looking at the sky

Wong hopes that the building will supplement the exhibitions in helping visitors understand the universe.

"Part of what was driving our thinking when developing the design for the Shanghai Astronomy Museum was how we could supplement the gallery content and create a building that made people more aware of the sky above – one that didn't just house exhibits about space, but put visitors into a direct engagement with the stars,"

Whatever their age or education level, people can observe and hopefully understand more about some very basic underpinnings of astronomy through a series of direct, physical experiences," he continued. "Space can seem so abstract – we wanted to provide something that was tangible and exciting."

Photography is by ArchExists.

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#cultural #all #architecture #shanghai #museums #enneadarchitects #chinesemuseums

MAD tops Jiaxing Civic Center with roof shaped like a "tarp blown by the wind"

Architecture studio MAD has designed a three-venue civic centre in the city of Jiaxing, China, that will be topped with a continuous roof that has the form of a tarpaulin being blown in the wind according to the studio,

Located near the canals of the historic South Lake and alongside the city's largest park, the Jiaxing Civic Center will contain three buildings organised around a 6,000-square-metre lawn.

Top: the Jiaxing Civic Centre was designed by MAD. Above: the building will have an undulating roof

"A civic centre, first and foremost, must be a place that attracts people; a place where children, youth, seniors, and families are willing to come together on a daily and weekly basis," said MAD founder Ma Yansong.

"We have created an undulating ring to serve as a garden-like living room for the city: an embrace."

The building is arranged around a large circular lawn

Covered by an undulating, continuous roof the buildings will contain the Science and Technology Museum, the Women and Children Activity Center and the Youth Activity Center

By placing the buildings under a continuous roof, the studio hopes to create a sense of unity and coherence while also enhancing its energy efficiency and avoiding the duplication of spaces.

"The project's floating roof forms a continuous skyline, like a tarp blown by the wind, bringing a soft sense of wrapping to the form," the studio explained.

"The organic flow of the lines throughout the project echoes the softness and grace of the ancient canal towns lining the southern banks of the Yangtze River in eastern China."

Glazed walls connect the interior with the surrounding parklands

On the ground level, the three venues surround a large circular lawn that was designed to be a public park where people can gather, relax and socialise. It can also be used as an events venue.

A canopy roof will shelter entrances to the cultural buildings and their glazed exterior walls that will link the ground level with the central lawn.

The ground level opens out onto the large lawn

This canopy roof around the lawn also forms a large landscaped terrace that circles the public green space.

The terrace extends and wraps around the perimeter of the cultural buildings forming a 350-metre-long raised walkway that leads to a sunken plaza and amphitheatre-style seating.

Floor-to-ceiling glazed walls will visually connect the interior of the cultural buildings with the exterior while a series of cascading terraces within the curved roof will form a collection of indoor-outdoor spaces.

Amphitheatre-style seating leads to a sunken plaza

Beijing-based architecture studio MAD was established by Yansong in 2004. The studio recently revealed its designs for the nearby Train Station in the Forest, which is nestled within a small forest.

It also recently completed a library in China that was cast in seamless concrete and a kindergarten in Beijing topped with red rooftop playground.

Project credits:

Architect: MAD
Principal partners: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate partners: Kin Li, Fu Changrui, Liu Huiying
Design team: Yin Jianfeng, Alessandro Fisalli, Fu Xiaoyi, Chen-Hsiang Chao, He Yiming, Thoufeeq Ahmed, Chen Hao, He Xiaowen, Zhang Yaohui, Guo Xuan, Edgar Navarrete, Claudia Hertrich, Deng Wei, Zhang Xiaomei, Chen Nianhai, Li Cunhao, Sun Feifei, Punnin Sukkasem, Manchi Yeung, Li Yingzhou
Client: Jiaxing Highway Investment Co
Executive architects: East China Architectural Design & Research Institute, Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (Group) Co
Facade consultant: RFR Shanghai
Landscape consultant: Earthasia Design Group, Yong-High Landscape Design Consulting Co
Interior design consultant: Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Decoration & Landscape Design Research Institute CO
Signage consultant: Nippon Design Center
Lighting consultant: Beijing Sign Lighting Industry Group
Traffic consultant: Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (Group) Co

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SANAA designs cloud-like structure for Shenzhen Maritime Museum

Japanese architecture studio SANAA has revealed its design for a museum in Shenzhen, which will be enclosed by a collection of hemispherical forms blanketed by a mesh louvred roof.

Dubbed Clouds on the Sea by SANAA, the 100,000-square-metre Shenzhen Maritime Museum will have a long horizontal, cloud-like structure that was designed to appear as if it was rolling off the South China Sea.

"Shenzhen Maritime Museum is a continuation of its natural environment between the mountain of Dapeng Peninsula and the sea of Longqi Bay," SANAA told Dezeen.

"Shenzhen Maritime Museum is a horizontal landmark imagined as clouds emerging from the sea, like a museum born out of the ocean."

Top: SANAA has designed the Shenzhen Maritime Museum. Above: the museum was designed to look like clouds

SANAA designed the building to become a landmark on Longqi Bay. It will take shape as a collection of low-lying lattice domes covered in a stainless-steel louvred mesh.

"Structurally, the hemispherical dome space is designed as a glass sphere to introduce natural light and an opaque sphere to shield the natural light," said SANAA.

"Above these spheres lies a light floating stainless metal louvres mesh that shades visitors from the subtropical hot sunlight and provides a unified appearance with the landscape."

"Ultimately, the white cloud floats above the sea and changes its appearance at different weather and time."

Green spaces and parks will be landscaped to extend the museums area

The Maritime Museum will be organised into three exhibition areas positioned around a large lobby and several courtyards.

Its ground floor will be arranged as a continuous open-plan space without columns that will allow visitors to freely roam.

The building will connect with surrounding green spaces and a nearby wetland park to expand the museum's activity area toward the natural landscape.

"The low-lying large organic building is based on an ocean-museum-park integration concept and is both a continuation of the unique marine landscape and a celebration of marine culture open towards the city," said SANAA.

SANAA's design was selected as the winning proposal to an international competition arranged as part of the Shenzhen New Ten – a city-wide development plan that will see 10 new cultural buildings constructed.

Other projects being developed as part of master plan include the Shenzhen Opera House designed by Jean Nouvel and a pebble-shaped science museum designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.

All images are by SANAA.

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