ZAO/standardarchitecture snakes concrete art gallery around courtyard in China
Chinese studio ZAO/standardarchitecture has created the Xiao Feng Art Museum in Hangzhou, housing galleries within an angular concrete form that loops around a central courtyard.
Located at the foot of Daci Mountain, the 1,298-square-metre museum is dedicated to the artist couple Xiao Feng and Song Ren, who passed away in 2023.
For the irregular courtyard layout of the museum, ZAO/standardarchitecture drew on the historic typology of Chinese Scholar's Gardens – gardens that were popular during the Ming Dynasty and used to showcase their owners' knowledge of the arts.
Xiao Feng Art Museum loops around this central courtyard, forming a continuous space that narrows and widens and rises and falls, creating what the studio described as a "multifaceted spatial experience".
"Visitors reach the entrance situated in the interior courtyard by walking under a building bridge," said the studio.
"In the building, a tour of the exhibition follows the circular form of the building, which becomes quite narrow at some points and expands to larger volumes at others so as to open up the exterior space," it added.
"Ramps provide access to the different levels, which facilitate a multifaceted spatial experience in the parts of the building with various heights."
Exposed concrete darkened with a black pigment defines both the exterior and interiors of Xiao Feng Art Museum, emphasising its angular geometry.
The outer walls of the museum have been left almost entirely blank, while small skylights protrude from the roof and small, deep square openings puncture the courtyard-facing walls.
A greater sense of openness has been created in the gallery spaces themselves, which are housed within cubic volumes that project out over the courtyard with fully-glazed ends.
The paved path that leads into the museum is flanked by two shallow pools of water, overlooked by lawns planted with trees and seating terraces that are sheltered by the projecting boxes above.
"The polygonal form is broken up towards the interior courtyard with protruding boxes," said ZAO/standardarchitecture.
"These open up to the courtyard with panorama windows or even permit a view through the building from the interior courtyard of the hilly landscape outside the museum."
ZAO/standardarchitecture was founded in Beijing in 2001 by Chinese architect Zhang Ke.
Previous projects by the studio include a "micro hostel" inserted into a historic hutong in Beijing, which also features exposed concrete and projecting, angular volumes around a central courtyard.
Another Chinese art gallery recently featured on Dezeen is The Quartet – Songzhuang Z Museum, which Team BLDG wrapped in a "woven skin".
The photography is by DONG Image unless stated otherwise.
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