Architecture Asia Special Issue - ARCASIA Awards for Architecture 2020

The museum, including a surviving coal-unloading hopper
bridge, is located on a former coal wharf on the Huangpu
River. The main design aim is to preserve the memory of this
urban landmark, while building a new architecture that preserves
or communicates with the history of the place, together
with generating a new urban public space. The architectural
design task for the art museum entails providing an appropriate
space for displaying contemporary artworks and visiting
exhibitions, a task facing contemporary art development. Ultimately,
the challenge at the construction level is to address
these two issues through a particular building methodology,
while creating new experiences and architectural forms. The
design outcome is an in-depth integration. An analogy of the
functional immediacy of coal hopper architecture as an industrial
structure is established through a combination of the
structure and function of as-cast concrete. The cantilevered
“vault-umbrella” structure of independent walls combines the
standardized column grids within the existing garage, simultaneously
providing a space for displaying and viewing contemporary
art within a free-flowing exhibition space. Thus a
roaming pattern emerges for the museum circulation, offering
visitors a more flexible viewing experience as an alternative
to a single routine that unfolds within conventional white
boxes. It is helpful for visitors to retrace, make comparisons,
and develop thoughts throughout the visit. The independent
“vault-umbrella” wall unit links the mechanical system to the
structure, producing pure interior space and bringing classical
characteristics out of a hodiernal plane layout. Thus a contemporary
architecture is created that is wondrous, “talks to”
existing coal hoppers, and is rooted in this place.
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