Beijing-based studio Trace Architecture Office's Museum of Handcraft Paper has been shortlisted for the 2013 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Located near a village at the foot of Gaoligong Mountain, in the province of Yunnan, China, the museum displays ancient paper craft and artefacts produced locally. Six galleries clustered around a courtyard form a micro-village, but the exhibitions are extended through displays of paper-craft in the nearby village.

Texture is articulated through local materials, formal expression and visual connection with the landscape, and the architects sought to consolidate the spatial experience of the village within the museum. Interior spaces alternate between galleries and views towards the surroundings. The upper levels of the museum harbour offices, tea and guest rooms. Materials used include local timber, bamboo, handcrafted paper, among other low energy-consuming and decomposable natural materials.