OMA’s first completed project in Hong Kong opens
today: museum-quality exhibition space and offices
for the Edouard Malingue Gallery,
the city’s first gallery dedicated to Impressionist
and Modernist masterpieces.
The design, led by David Gianotten, General
Manager-Architect of OMA Asia (Hong Kong),
and architect Giulia Foscari, juxtaposes two distinct
environments: for the 750 square feet of
exhibition space, an articulated sequence of three
rooms encased in an aluminium volume
visible from the street; for reception and
administration, an open office area that reveals the
original structure of the building.
The articulation of the three rooms maximises
exhibition space and allows viewers time and
space for contemplation of individual artworks. The
aluminium volume that encloses the three
rooms creates a box-within-a-box, serving
aesthetic, atmospheric, and practical purposes: the
box is visible as an object from Queen’s Road
Central below; it creates a sense of protection
and seclusion for the viewing of art; and allows for
a controlled environment, guaranteeing
museum standards for climate, acoustics and
lighting.
The refinement of the exhibition spaces – with
reflective resin floors, plastered white walls and
diffused lighting – contrasts with the “found”
conditions preserved in the office spaces: a bare
shell structure with black concrete beams, foiled
ducts on the ceiling and rough concrete floor.
The refined aesthetic conditions for displaying art
are kept distinct – though not hidden – from
the commerce that supports it.
The articulated exhibition spaces also define the
office spaces, creating an alternative
sequence of three spaces: the assistant’s office and
kitchen correspond with the first room, the
office of Edouard Malingue with the central art
room, and the private viewing room with the
main facade. This room also contains storage unit
for art, embedded into the exhibition volume
and opening up towards the viewing room through
a sliding wall panel.
At night, the relationship between the two identities
of the gallery is visible from the street. The
lighting system makes legible the perforated
aluminium panels encasing the art space and the
roughness of the surrounding beam structure, with
foiled ducts running above the exhibition
volume.
David Gianotten commented: “It is very exciting to
deliver our first project related to arts and
culture in Hong Kong exactly a year after
establishing an OMA office here. It illustrates the
speed and vibrancy of this city and the fact that
arts and culture are very much alive here. The
project is special not only for this reason. We have
been able to create two distinct kinds of
atmosphere: the refinement necessary for showing
art and the hard work needed for creating
exhibitions.”
OMA completes gallery space in Hong Kong for Edouard Malingue
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- Elena Sommariva
- 28 September 2010