ole scheeren's guardian art center takes shape in beijing

in beijing, construction is well underway on the new headquarters of china’s oldest art auction house – ‘the guardian art center’. new images taken by photographer cristiano bianchi show the vast complex emerging above the dense and diverse city fabric. designed by international architecture firm büro ole scheeren, the completed project will form a hybrid institution that serves as a museum, event space, and cultural lifestyle center.

all images by cristiano bianchi

‘it is quite interesting, especially for the context,’ photographer bianchi told designboom. ‘it is located in the city center of beijing in front of the meishuguan (fine art museum) and beside an historical hutong area. from the hill behind the forbidden city you can see how the project is entering the skyline of the city, right in front of the galaxy soho by zaha hadid and the CCTV headquarters by OMA.’

the venue serves as a museum, event space, and cultural lifestyle center

the ‘pixelated’ volumes of the lower part of the building subtly refer to the adjacent urban environment, echoing the grain, color and intricate scale of the city’s hutongs, while the upper portion responds to the larger scale of the surrounding contemporary city. internally, the museum’s display and presentation areas are merged, with a variety of exhibition and auction rooms allowing for a wide range of events. the program also includes several restaurants and a 120-room hotel. the upper ring of the hotel is made of floating, over-sized glass bricks, resonating with the textures of the adjacent hutongs and courtyard houses. see designboom’s previous coverage of the guardian art center here.

the upper portion of the design responds to the larger scale of the surrounding city

the development borders a historical hutong area

the project shown in the foreground, with work by OMA and zaha hadid behind

rendering showing the completed design
image © büro ole scheeren