x museum in beijing by TEMP rethinks cultural space + artwork display design

architectural design studio TEMP has introduced ‘x museum‘ for contemporary art in beijing, china. the building has been shaped as a place where the yunger generation of the city can explore the complex and ever-changing world of art and culture during today’s times of uncertainty. 

all images by jin weiqi

aiming to reinvent the design of cultural spaces, TEMP has started this project by asking the most basic question: ‘how should a painting be hung on a wall?’. as a response, a new wall system has been shaped, consisting of custom made terracotta bricks extruded with horizontal slots, to which metal clips can be installed to hang artworks. paintings, installations, projectors can be showcased with the help of this alternative wall structure. 

the letter x is used as the main symbol of the museum at the entrance, as an intersection of two H-beams supporting each other structurally. the crossed-braced structure holds the large curving roof that is perforated to filter patterns of light into the entrance space. the diagram of the x composed of two lines is signified as the most basic form of interaction. the museum also dedicates itself to being multidisciplinary show not only artists, but also architects, scientists, engineers, musicians, and designers.

the south façade is covered with a matrix of 54 steel light boxes, as protruded rectilinear structures casting an array of shadows onto the grey stucco wall. the angle and the lengths of the shadows constantly change throughout the day according to the solar position. downlights are also embedded into the box to light up the façade creating another kind of pattern during the nighttime. these structures can also be used to hang large posters or displays that may be required by the museum for different events. 

project info:

name: x museum
architecture office: TEMP

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: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom