herzog & de meuron reveal new images of M+ museum

herzog & de meuron reveal new images of M+ museum
all images courtesy of herzog & de meuron

the winning herzog & de meuron ‘M+ museum’ design, the latest addition to the west kowloon cultural district, is currently under construction (see designboom’s earlier coverage of the swiss firm’s scheme here). the in progress images reveal a further articulated program and tectonic palette; the architecture is slated to be a testament to the changing seaside region with a site comprised of reclaimed earth. while spaces will be dedicated to the showcase of art, design, architecture and the moving image, the archetypal white cube will be bolstered by reconfigurable halls–elements that will be able to be combined or divided to create small, additional rooms–which will distinguish and structure the sequence of the internal areas. integrated screening rooms and a so-called industrial space, have been conceived to grow with the programmatic complexity of the museum.

a central accretion of volumes are used to affix the institution to the post-industrial site while the airport express tunnel creates a discoverable void that characterizes interior circulation. the obstacle of the arguably synthetic, post-industrial site will be re-framed as a sunken forum that will challenge both curators and visitors alike to create and enjoy the dynamic viewership of art. the museum’s overall horizontal mass will employ a network of ‘anchor rooms’ and double-height gallery spaces pervaded with diffused daylight from strategic bands of glazing and a monumental circular cutout that visually stretches the building vertically.

horizontal louvers on the exterior offer privacy will still allowing natural light to enter into the museum

an arrangement of the museum’s programming are based on an orthogonal grid with specific functions assigned to each quadrant of the platform. a central plaza provides access to the entire exhibition area. the ticketing area, museum shop and information centre will be positioned in the corner adjacent to the artist square, with a large temporary exhibition space facing the surrounding park. to one side, there is an auditorium with extensive glazing along its wall that looks towards the watefront area of victoria harbour and central courtyard, that will provide visitors with access to the rooftop terrace, while opposite is the glazed rotunda of the resource center.

horizontal louvers run along the façade, precisely spaced so that they frame views of the surrounding artist square, park and hong kong island skyline on the opposite side of the harbor. an LED system integrated into the exterior walls will activate the museum, along side the installation of a display screen that will feature a rotation of curated multi-media works.

an elongated sky lit gallery neighbors a courtyard that offers direct access to a roof terrace

‘excavated’ gallery space

a monumental circular cut-out stretches the height of the building

views of the ‘found space’
left: artworks from the sigg collection imagined by herzog & de meuron
right: artworks by doug and mike stern imagined by herzog & de meuron