Long Museum West Bund
Shanghai CN
Atelier Deshaus
2012
Type
Museum
Tags
renovations, cultural facilities, postindustrial spaces , traces from the past, West Bund art area, Huangpu riverside renovation, transparence, 200Best
Visitability
Allowed
Description
Located in Xuhui District in Shanghai along the Huangpu River, the site for Long Museum West Bund was once a coal dock. When the design started, there were a preserved coal-hopper-unloading bridge and an existing two-story underground parking garage within the site. The coal-hopper-bridge was built during the 1950s and is about 110 meters long, 10 meters wide and 8 meters high. The parking garage was built two years ago as part of a building whose above ground part was never realized.The new design employs a cantilevered “vault-umbrella” structure. Following a free plan, shear walls are inserted into the existing basement and are connected to the existing column grid, thus transforming the previous garage space into gallery space. Various combinations between “vault-umbrellas” of different directions create multiple meanings for the above ground space. The mechanical system is integrated into the hollow space inside the “vault-umbrella” structure. Together, they cover a square site and form the interior space. The interior walls and ceilings are both of as-cast concrete finish. Their ambiguous geometric demarcation creates a unique spatial experience offering both a sense of protection and a sense of freedom. With a high integration of structure, mechanical system and spatial intention, a volumetric structure comes into being and is analogous to the existing coal-hopper-unloading bridge within the site. In this way, the new architecture establishes a relationship with this particular place.(Description provided by the architects)