Situated in a particularly evocative natural setting the Shunchang Museum, designed by The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD), is not simply a “container” of exhibits but is itself an exhibition object, as well as a place symbolising the culture and dynamism of the city of Nanping. The building, a monolith set in an elongated lot between the mountains and the Futun stream, stands as a “hinge” between the surrounding urban fabric and the lively pedestrian promenade: here, spaces for permanent and temporary exhibitions of local culture, history and tradition, an urban planning exhibition centre, office and storage space, an auditorium, a book bar and a cafeteria are located.
A monolith nestled between streams and mountains in China
The Shunchang Museum acts as a link between the urban fabric and the natural landscape, and between an ancient culture and the pulsating, dynamic rhythms of the contemporary city.
Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
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Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
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Photo Zhao Qiang
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Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
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Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
Photo Zhao Qiang
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- Chiara Testoni
- 26 June 2022
- Shunchang County, Nanping City, Fujian Province, China
- The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD)
- 10,138.2 sqm
- culture
- 2021
In order to ensure maximum permeability to the city’s vital flows, the building is elevated so as to favour seamless transition and crossing to the bank of the stream and is articulated around a central courtyard, an “oculus” from which the surrounding spaces draw light and natural ventilation: an “urban living room”, the epicentre of sociability and aggregation, where a large preserved pre-existing tree attests to the memory of the place.
The massive, sculptural volume is externally finished with rough-textured granite panels to suggest the texture of the surrounding mountains, glass and mirrored stainless steel panels that, in the external false ceilings, create a vibrant play of reflections between the aquatic, mountain and human landscape. The interior spaces are characterised by maximum functional flexibility thanks to the use of a punctiform frame and truss structure extending over an uninterrupted 48 m span.
A place with a bivalent soul, as is often the case in China, where among dynamic skateboarders, buskers and performers, flâneurs strolling along the slow course of the stream, nostalgic fans of the county’s history, a vibrant city life pulsates in peaceful balance with the memories of a millenary culture, loved and preserved here.
- Shunchang Museum
- Shunchang Urban Investment and Construction Development Co., Ltd.
- Tashan Road, Shunchang County, Nanping City, Fujian Province, China
- The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD)
- CSCEC Strait Construction and Development Co., Ltd.
- Dong Danshen, Wu Zhenling
- Zhao Bo, Zhang Jiachen, Yan Hui, Zhao Lichen
- Zhou Jianlu, Nan Jingjing, Pan Jiafu, Hu Bo
- Wang Yibei, Zhang Nan
- Ning Taigang, Zhang Weilin, Chen Haijun
- Yang Wenzheng, Yu Kan
- Ma Jian, Jiang Bing, Ni Gaojun
- Shi Jiongjiong, Wang Jieneng, Wang Jianzhong
- Li Jingyuan, Hu Xu, Lu Xiaoling, Fang Yu
- Wu Weiling, Xu Conghua, Zhang Chi, He Ying
- Pang Xiaoxiao, Yu Yuanming, Xiao Shuzheng
masterplan
first floor plan
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construction detail
construction detail
construction detail