maison h reveals design for beijing 2022 winter olympic museum

maison h has presented its design for the world’s first winter olympics museum. planned for the beijing 2022 winter olympics, the project will extend the legacy of the 2008 beijing olympics — and encourage sustainable social and economic development — by repurposing the existing venues as well as shougang, the spectacular former steel plant. the new urban area, in china’s chongli region, will host all the ice events including curling, ice hockey, and skating, together with big air snowboarding and freestyle skiing.

all images by proloog

designed by maison h, the beijing 2022 winter olympic museum will revitalize the region of chongli as the center of development of winter sport in china. the project makes use of the natural mountainous resources and offers long term opportunities for the rural region. in addition to exhibition venues, the museum includes a dedicated olympic academy with libraries and research facilities focused on the winter olympics. the project further offers a youth olympic training center, VR experience center, mountain sports center, and cable car station to further lift the region’s economy in a sustainable way.

the design team develops the project with full consideration for the pivotal role of the urban and natural site, as well as the symbolic nature of the building’s olympic legacy. the design anchors the urban space while integrating the topography of the natural surroundings into the architecture. starting from the town center side that forms the front of the project, the existing sloping terrain is gently sculpted into a public route that provides direct access to every floor in the building. from the mountains behind, a new ski-slope will pass under the existing highway and end in the heart of the new building. visitors can reach the top of the ski slope and an adjacent hall of fame by a direct cable car connection from the building’s central valley.