M Woods Entrance Revitalisation is an urban renewal project by Vector Architects, located in Beijing 798 Art Zone. The site was an abandoned industrial warehouse and it was used as an art museum since two years ago. The museum operators expect to have a facade and entrance renovation in order to refine visiting experience, and to improve the recognition of the museum’s public image.
M Woods Revitalisation
Choosing the galvanized iron wire mesh as main material, Vector Architects has renovated the entrance and the public space of the M Woods museum in Beijing.
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- 28 August 2017
- Beijing
The primary strategy is not to reform the existing facade, but to add a layer of translucency on it. Hence people are able to sense the old when they experience the new, and read the historical information of the city. Another challenge was time and budget. The project has to be implemented within 40 days from design to construction. Due to this critical condition, architects choose the galvanized iron wire mesh as main material. By taking advantage of its light weight and self-support quality, a big number of stud works were eliminated. In addition, translucency and reflectivity of the metal mesh turns the entrance facade into a more lively condition, since the mesh can offer some shadow. Vector Architects revitalized not only the M Woods entrance but also a “negative” green belt which is enclosed by a fence across the street. They opened it up, and embedded a small plaza there. This plaza is under a metal mesh canopy with same material as the entrance, unifying surrounded space with the museum.
M Woods revitalisation, Beijing
Program: museum renovation
Architect: Vector Architects – Gong Dong
Project architect: Dongping Sun
Design team: Yinxi Lu, Kun Ding
Structural consultant: Lixin Ji
Completion: 2016