Article source: Xinjiang Wind Architectural Design & Research Institute Co.,Ltd. 

Western or Eastern? 

DongZhuang-Building Museum of Western Regions, is located in Tuoli Township of Nanshan Grasslands, 30 km away from Urumqi City, and is built on the site of a previous grain shop that existed more than sixty years ago. Since the ancient times, architectural design which is inspired by natural landscape has always been exciting. The Museum, facing the city in the south and backed by the mountain in the north, has no disturbance on surrounding vegetation. From afar, it looks like an off-white stone rolled down from the mountain, standing quietly and naturally in the open and vast Gobi desert of Inner Eurasia. Part of the Museum was designed as a guest house containing a private art gallery and the other is open to the public where passengers could have some rest. Cement, sand, necessary rebar and least glass are all components of the building for ecology protection and resource conservation. The thick walls and small windows shield against the scorching sun in summer and chillness in winter. The principles and methods of traditional technologies for cavity walls, ramming earth, sun-dried mud bricks and laying stones are adopted to construct a simple, reliable and durable building. The texture of materials is highlighted on the building’s surface to obtain a “natural” completeness of a non-specific space. The design respecting the data framework and ecological cycle reflects the diversity, liberty and obscureness of local life and endows the building with liberty, freeness and vitality. DongZhuang is a “transparent” presence, with no clear internal floors, possibilities of uncertain and multiple applications, and UDLR interconnection. It takes advantage of natural presences in a smart way to protect against wind and snow and realize ventilation and day lighting. The perfect concave-convex matching with the outer space and the existing space chiseled and space “created” as required for the workers’ needs makes a building under the concept of “harmony” and “container”.

a corner of DongZhuang, Image Courtesy © Yao Li

• Architects: Xinjiang Wind Architectural Design & Research Institute Co.,Ltd.
• Project: DongZhuang-Building Museum
• Location: Western Ecological Environment Research Center, 23 Baijiangou Village, Tuoli Township, Urumqi County, Xinjiang, China
• Photography: Yao Li
• Design Team: Liu Xu, Zhang Haiyang, Liu Erdong, Zhang Zhong, Zhang Qing, Zhang Jian
• Technical and economic target: land used for building 1,990 m²; building area 800 m²; total construction area 7,700 m²; underground area 1,750 m²; floor area 5,950 m²; building density 40%; floor area ratio 3.87
• Scale of construction: 7,700 m², with one story underground and 3 stories above ground
• Completed in: July 2016

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