The new museum is a city within the city, where the external envelope evolves from a dialogue with the neighbouring buildings and encloses a new internal square, a protected space of tranquillity and calm, with the characteristics of the traditional Chinese courtyard. The building has two principal wings. The Contemporary Art Museum is on one side and the Planning Exhibition spaces on the other.
The public square between the two provides a venue for outdoor sculptures, and a meeting place for communal activities, as well as a restaurant. This dialogue is further enhanced through the site landscaping, where the plan of the city is recreated at a small scale with water features and hard landscaping framing a pedestrian route and re-establishing the human scale to the site.
The dramatic form of the cantilevered museum galleries is constructed from concrete and full-height steel trusses, with glazed openings that control the daylight levels internally and give selected views out. Within these large volumes, ramps, staircases and escalators link the free-flowing form of the open plan interior, with spectacular double or triple height spaces. The fragmented shapes that make up the museum will create a dynamic cultural landmark and a tranquil oasis for private contemplation. Source by Matteo Cainer Architects.
Location: Shenzhen, China
Architect: Matteo Cainer Architects
Client: Shenzhen Municipal Cultural and Planning Bureaus
Images: Courtesy of Matteo Cainer Architects