herzog & de meuron wins hangzhou's grand canal museum competition

herzog & de meuron has won a competition to complete new museum complex in hangzhou, at the junction of china’s grand canal and hanggang river. the winning design was selected unanimously ahead of entries by david chipperfield architects and zaha hadid architects. herzog & de meuron’s design aims to reflect the canal’s importance in chinese cultural and natural landscapes, while creating a vibrant and contemporary place of gathering.

image © herzog & de meuron (also main image)

herzog & de meuron’s scheme, which was first unveiled by hochparterre, is the result of an international competition launched by the hangzhou canal preservation & development construction group co., ltd. as the site is surrounded by water on three sides, the architects elected to elevate the museum building by 12 meters (39 ft), thus creating extra covered and shaded public space. internally, the vast exhibition area is organized on two identical floors that can operate independently.

image © herzog & de meuron

the grand canal museum is anchored by a large mountain-shaped conference center-hotel complex on the east side of the plot, facing the grand canal and connecting to the city with its proximity to the main road. according to the design team, this setting embodies ‘water in the front, mountain in the back’ — a classic chinese ideal of harmonious integration of people, buildings and their natural environment. read more about the project on herzog & de meuron’s website here.

project info:

herzog & de meuron team —
partners: jacques herzog, pierre de meuron, andreas fries (partner in charge)
project team: linxi dong (associate, project director), tristan zelic (project manager), pablo garrido, nicola ragazzini, leroy patterson, david goncalves monteiro, ning guo, harry m. x. wei, kristin gudmundsdóttir, de qian huang, pan hu
client: hangzhou canal preservation & development construction group co., ltd. hangzhou, PR china

planning —
design consultant: herzog & de meuron, basel, switzerland

building data —
site area: 57,600 sqm
gross floor area (GFA): 119,760 sqm
number of levels: 14
footprint: 22,970 sqm
length: 253 m, width: 106 m, height: 60 m