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.

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.

The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD), Shunchang Museum, Shunchang County, Nanping City, Fujian Province, China 2021. Foto Zhao Qiang
The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD), Shunchang Museum, Shunchang County, Nanping City, Fujian Province, China 2021. Foto Zhao Qiang

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 Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD), Shunchang Museum, Shunchang County, Nanping City, Fujian Province, China 2021. Foto Zhao Qiang
The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD), Shunchang Museum, Shunchang County, Nanping City, Fujian Province, China 2021. Foto Zhao Qiang

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.

Project:
Shunchang Museum
Client:
Shunchang Urban Investment and Construction Development Co., Ltd.
Location:
Tashan Road, Shunchang County, Nanping City, Fujian Province, China
Architectural project:
The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD)
Construction:
CSCEC Strait Construction and Development Co., Ltd.
Team leaders:
Dong Danshen, Wu Zhenling
Project team:
Zhao Bo, Zhang Jiachen, Yan Hui, Zhao Lichen
Structural design:
Zhou Jianlu, Nan Jingjing, Pan Jiafu, Hu Bo
Water supply & drainage design:
Wang Yibei, Zhang Nan
HVAC design:
Ning Taigang, Zhang Weilin, Chen Haijun
Electrical design:
Yang Wenzheng, Yu Kan
Smart design:
Ma Jian, Jiang Bing, Ni Gaojun
Curtain wall design:
Shi Jiongjiong, Wang Jieneng, Wang Jianzhong
Interior design:
Li Jingyuan, Hu Xu, Lu Xiaoling, Fang Yu
Landscape design:
Wu Weiling, Xu Conghua, Zhang Chi, He Ying
Lighting design:
Pang Xiaoxiao, Yu Yuanming, Xiao Shuzheng

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