march urban art centre turns traditional chinese courtyard to contemporary exhibition space

the design studio, march urban art centre, has completed the renovation of an existing museum in beijing to create the ‘dongsi culture centre.’ formerly known as dongsi 77 courtyard, the project is located in one of the 25 historical areas of the city. the concept looks to transform the space while also retaining and showcasing the important spiritual and cultural features of the community.

all images © weiqi jin

the approach by the designer intends to narrate the traditional history of the area, while also making it relevant to today’s visitors by revealing the connective threads between the past, present and future. the display techniques utilized therefore remain sympathetic to the existing fabric through minimal interventions. the renovation space aims to appeal to diverse audience groups and prioritizes non-intrusive artwork, such as audio-visual presentations, projections and live performances. the spaces are designed for all ages and aim to cultivate a good social and cultural environment for next generations.

the ‘armillary’ public art installation

the renovation of the courtyard space implements large scale public art interventions to create a dialogue between past and present. ‘armillary’ is a large arched form made from stainless steel. spanning 12.7m in length, the piece reflects on the lines of longitude and latitude and other astronomically important features. in the third courtyard lies ‘stella’ – a spherical installation with 28 star images based on the cognitive thinking mode of the universe of the ancient chinese.

the ‘stella’ public art installation

as the core element of beijing courtyard buildings, the roof tile has become a symbol of the historic architecture. however, a large number of these traditional courtyards are gradually disappearing. starting from the idea of protecting the cultural heritage and combining it with contemporary art, the tiles are used to create a spatial art installation entitled ‘time and tile.’ upon entering the exhibition space, visitors experience transparent tiles floating with the sound of traditional music. the combination of the historical tile element and modern materials represents the perfect blend of past and future.

the ‘time and tile’ spatial installation

visitors can experience the array of tiles to the sound of traditional chinese music 

the cultural showroom displaying the history and culture of the dongsi area

the cultural showroom illuminates the middle courtyard

the cultural showroom transforms the middle courtyard

‘armillary’ viewed at night

the courtyard space at night

the washroom area

the renovated training room

project info:

project: ‘dongsi culture centre, 77 courtyard renovation project’

location: 77 courtyard, dongsi sitiao, beijing, china

design: march urban art centre

design principle: rik zou, jing liu

design team: xingang he, changxin zhao, qiang fu, liying qiu

producer: jeffrey zhang

planning and public art: dr. jack tian

client: capital urbanization group

site area: 11,011 ft2 (1023 m2)

design period: 2017.9 – 2017.12

completion date: 2018.10

photography: weiqi jin

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom