Located on the eastern 3rd ring road in Beijing, the white exterior of the Hongkun Art Gallery works a sculptural focal point for the area. Entering the gallery through an opening in the monolithic facade, the arch-like curves continue to the interior and gently merge into a clean white space for exhibiting the artworks. The open areas in the gallery offer a wide space for themed exhibition, while the gently curved entrance part draws people into the space and guides them naturally further into the gallery.
The arc itself is a shape which origins from a cave. The cave is the birth - place for art and architecture. And it has been used for thousands of years as a transmitter for art and history. Therefor we tried to find a new connection from the tradition to a modern way to exhibition art.
The solid expression of the exterior continually merges with a carved out interior and increases the sculptural appearance of the gallery. Multiple arches altering in size and orientation create a continuous, gentle curve which becomes a sculptural interpretation of the landscape paintings, that are exhibited in the gallery.
Within the arches, the entrance sculpture inhabits an information desk, a coatroom and the main circulation staircase, which guides visitors to the basement with a special exhibition hall and employees to the office area located on the mezzanine level.
Project: Hongkun Museum of Fine Arts
Architects: penda / www.home-of-penda.com
Projectteam: He Quan, Minxue Sun, Dayong Sun, Chris Precht
Lighting and Museum Consultant: Jing Ai
Projectlocation: No.42, West Dawang Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100022
Projectarea: 1400sqm on 2 floors
Project started: End of October 2013
Gallery opened: Beginning of December 2013
Photoraphs: Xia Zhi / www.xiazhiphoto.com
