When we think of Chinese architecture, colossal and utilitarian infrastructure projects might come to mind, but, from a museum where lake water laps in and out of the structure, to a giant sundial, and a tunnel woven from timber, China boasts some of the world’s most interesting and mindful architecture projects of 2024.
1. Zaishui Art Museum, Shandong Province
Spanning an artificial lake in the Yellow Coast prefecture of Rizhao, a one-kilometre-long museum stretches almost the entire diameter of the body of water it hugs. In places, the water laps over the Zaishui Art Museum’s floor, seeming to caress it in return.
Japanese architect Junya Ishigami created this linear 20,000-square-metre exhibition space, as a dialogue between the outdoors and the interior, in a country where museums have often been enclosed, very private spaces. Its gently undulating roof pays homage to the natural landscape of mountains that rises beyond.
2. Sun Tower, Shandong Province
Meanwhile, on the northern coast of the Shandong Peninsula, in Yantai, rises a new venue and exhibition centre that is designed to leave a shadow. The conical, sundial-inspired Sun Tower, contains interconnecting storeys and offers viewing decks, libraries and uninterrupted seaward views from its waterfront “cut edge.”
Architect Li Hu, founder of Open Architecture, the firm behind the giant timepiece, describes the multi-purpose building as “unusual in terms of its architectural typology — it is simultaneously a contemporary cultural building, a civic gathering place, a watchtower for ocean observation, a giant sundial, an education centre for environmental awareness, and a lighthouse for urban souls searching beyond the horizon.”
3. ZGC International Innovation Centre, Beijing
Rather than casting a sundial shadow, the ZGC International Innovation Centre in Beijing is designed, by MAD, to sit low-slung in its park-like surroundings with a “biomorphic, clover-like form” that “features a cantilevered roof characterised by soft, fluid shapes.”
By day, the Centre “blends into the cityscape with an accessible green roof park, consisting of trees, gardens, walkways, and architectural features that extend the surrounding gardens and hills, making it completely disappear when viewed from the surrounding mountains,” say MAD. But at night, the Centre comes alive as roof lights “synchronise with the roof lines,” said MAD. “They create a sense of movement, echoing the endless traffic on the city roads.”
4. Woven Gateway and Sky Ring, Zhejiang Province
Further south in Zhejiang Province, architecture practice Line+ Studio, have given a small village in a scenic location its own grand entrance, worthy of the misty mountain views and hiking that are putting it on the outdoor activities map.
In the scenic Chuan Yan Nineteen Peaks area in Zhejiang, China, Line+ Studio designed two innovative structures: the "Woven Gateway" and "Sky Ring."These designs, a timber-woven tunnel and a doughnut-shaped weather balloon, are minimal yet impactful.
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An intricate timber tunnel, drawing on the region’s bamboo weaving traditions and baptised the “Woven Gateway” now ushers visitors into Xiayanbei Village, while a “Sky Ring” floats nearby – an ethereal ring-shaped balloon that can ascend up to 25-metres, acting as a meteorological beacon and providing colourful illumination at night.
5. Twisted Brick Shell Library, Zhejiang
Also in Zhejiang, in Longyou County, a red-brick pavilion that recalls grain-drying ovens is inviting people to experience mindfulness among agricultural surroundings. The “Twisted Brick Shell Library” neighbours Quzhou city and sits on farmland across the Quijiang River.
A contemplative space for reading and reflection, the library’s walls incorporate 24 eye-level acrylic domes containing “visual poetry” by Japanese artist Yoichiro Otani and intended to accompany the landscape.
