álvaro siza and carlos castanheira wrap china design museum with red sandstone façades

álvaro siza has collaborated with carlos castanheira on a major exhibition space in hangzhou, the capital of china’s zhejiang province. the design museum forms part of the china academy of art (CAA), which has two campuses in the city. one is in the center, while the other is situated on the outskirts of the metropolis. many of the new campus’ buildings were designed by chinese architect wang shu. ‘when we started on this work, he had not yet received the 2012 pritzker prize,’ explains castanheira. ‘the help that we received from both of him and his architect wife lu wenyu during the early stages of our work, and even today, were and continue to be fundamental.’

the project is located in hangzhou, the capital of china’s zhejiang province
image © fernando guerra | FG+SG (also main image)

the scheme is located at the intersection of two major roads on a triangle-shaped plot, which has defined the building’s footprint and volume. siza and castanheira designed the museum to display of a large collection of recently acquired bauhaus pieces, as well as a series of temporary exhibitions. the structure is clad with red agra sandstone imported from india that defines the museum’s external appearance. white marble has been used to complement the reddish tones, while a free-standing white concrete volume serves as the entrance.

the building forms part of the chinese academy of art (CAA)
image © fernando guerra | FG+SG

the internal layout has been configured to facilitate smooth visitor flow and flexibility. the basement contains technical and service areas, archives, and a café connected to the triangular courtyard at the building’s center. above, the ground floor contains the entrance and rest areas, as well as temporary exhibition halls and auditoriums. a mezzanine level permits circulation, while a ramp leads to an outdoor roof garden. finally, the uppermost storey houses the bauhaus collection. administration areas, as well as workshops for young artists, are also provided.

the scheme is located at the intersection of two major roads
image © fernando guerra | FG+SG

a free-standing white concrete volume serves as the entrance
image © fernando guerra | FG+SG

the project was completed in 2018
image © fernando guerra | FG+SG

white marble has been used to complement the reddish tones
image © fernando guerra | FG+SG

the structure is clad with red agra sandstone imported from india
image © fernando guerra | FG+SG

the triangle-shaped plot has defined the building’s footprint and volume
image © fernando guerra | FG+SG

the building contains a variety of galleries
image © fernando guerra | FG+SG

the internal layout has been configured to facilitate smooth visitor flow and flexibility
image © fernando guerra | FG+SG

many of the museum’s adjacent buildings have been designed by chinese architect wang shu
image © fernando guerra | FG+SG

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project info:

name: china museum of design bauhaus collection
location: hangzhou, china
project: february 2012 – december 2013
construction: september 2014 – april 2018
architects: álvaro siza with carlos castanheira
portugal office: CC&CB, arquitectos
principal in charge: pedro carvalho
collaborators: adalberto dias, carolina leite, catarina rodrigues, diana vasconcelos, elisabete queirós, francesca tiri, germano vieira, joana soeiro, joão figueiredo, jorge santos, nuno campos, pedro afonso, rita ferreira, sara pinto, susana oliveira
local office: the design institute of landscape & architecture, china academy of art
architecture: liu ke, zhao yaunpeng, jiang weihua
structure: shentu taunbing, chen yongbing
engineering: zhu weiping, yu xiaofen ( hydraulical), jin guogang, wang yonghong ( electrical), chen chunji, teng liang (HVAC)
intelligent design: sun mingliang, sin minjun ( intelligent design), hangzhou zhida archit. science & technology co.,ltd, zhang shanming, he haixia ( acosutics)
consultants: GET – raul bessa (HVAC), hdp – paulo fidalgo ( structure)
3D models: germano vieira, pedro afonso
total building area: 16,000 sqm