Article source: AZL Architects

Shangrao is a developing inland city. Like most other inland cities, Shangrao is undergoing a period of urban construction and rapid upgrading and expanding. A large comprehensive building group, consisting of a number of smaller city cultural buildings, is typical in similar cities, which is often discussed by architects in urbanization process.

The museum is located on the east side of the central axis of Shangrao city center, covering an area of about 40,000 square meters and a total construction area of 42,000 square meters, including museums, urban planning exhibition halls and urban construction archives. From the north to the south, the central axis of the city connects the administrative center, the Citizen Park, the Entrepreneurial Park and the landscape mountains, and extends to Xin River in the south end. Around the grand City Square, there are high-density urban building groups, forming a sharp contrast between high density outside and zero density in the square. The museum base is 360 meters in length, traversing spaces with totally different densities. The biggest problem designers face is how to conciliate the two parts with proper construction features. The overall layout to purse huge building group is avoided. From the south to the north, the urban construction archives, the urban planning exhibition hall and the museum are laid out according to users, area and mode. The three buildings of different sizes are well-proportioned. Outdoor spaces of different sizes are formed in the City Square and the road around the base, and these spaces are equipped with different contents and landscape elements according to functions of the buildings. Thus, the entrance and the route of visitors are clear. In addition, these outdoor spaces play the role of transition between the roads and the Square, creating the impression of space, enriching the functionality of the City Square, and endowing the Square with a lively atmosphere.

South view of archive, Image Courtesy © Hou Bowen

• Architects: AZL Architects
• Project: Planning Exhibition Hall, Museum & Archive
• Location: Shangrao, China
• Photography: Hou Bowen
  
• Design Cooperation: Institute of Architecture Design & Planning Co., Ltd, Nanjing University
• Lead Architects: Qi Wei, Gong Huan
• Architectural Design: Wang Liang, Fan Xinwo, Chen Genlin
• Landscape Design: Chen Junjun, Qiu Jing, Sun Xueran
• Total Floor Area: 42000㎡
• Design/Completion: 2016/2017

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