World Building of the Week

The Economic Miracle Memorialised as Landscape

Eduard Kögel
26. August 2024
South arial view ©TAL
South arial view ©TAL

Like no other in China, the city of Shenzhen has come to be synonymous with the country’s economic miracle. One of the four first ‘special economic zones’ in the country was established here in 1980, and the Hong Kong based China Merchants’ Group played a leading role in the economic development of the Shekou Industrial Zone from the outset. They levelled a part of the hilly district, reclaimed the sea to build harbours, and prepared the logistics for foreign investment – an approach that came to be known the “Shekou Model”, which other cities imitated. 

North facade of the museum ©TAL

The site of the museum is one of the few remaining hills in the otherwise levelled Shekou area. The hill was left untouched because the first Chinese terrestrial microwave relay station was built there. Following the motto “the hill as the exhibition venue, and the city as the exhibition”, the URBANUS architects designed the new museum as a scenario staged along a path and that integrates the surrounding landscape into the experiential narrative. At the end of the path the visitor reaches the museum space. Built directly over the restored former microwave relay station, the architectural design integrates this ready-made and important exhibition artefact as the centrepiece of the museum.

Outdoor stairs on the west ©TAL

The hill, now forested, is surrounded by dense urban development. On the summit, the museum can be reached via several paths. The staged path with the inscribed narrative, a path through the forest, as well as an openair stairway that zigzags up the hill. These additional paths make the location an important recreational area for the wider neighbourhood, even when the museum is closed.

East of entry plaza ©TAL

The building responds to the topography of its site. It is arranged over five levels and its spatial volumes similarly adapt to the sculptural profile of the hillside. The first and second levels house a permanent exhibition on the 150-year history of the China Merchants Group, that is spatially centred around the restored microwave relay station. The third floor is an outdoor viewing platform accessible from the public paths. From here, visitors have a view towards the Shekou district. The fourth floor houses an exhibition hall for contemporary art. 

Entry plaza  ©TAL

A spacious exhibition platform is located on the roof level, which, as the highest point of the hill, offers excellent views and also allows outdoor activities to take place. The organically structured building volume is visually integrated into the landscape. Various openings deliberately frame views into the surrounding part-natural, part-urban landscape, thereby incorporating it into the exhibitions.

Lobby ©TAL

The façades are mainly clad in white travertine. The interior spaces are dominated by fine exposed concrete. The few additional materials, including aluminium, steel, and copper, reflect the industrial history of the China Merchants Group, as does their processing and surface treatments. This reduced material palette combined with a sophisticated lighting concept (more than) suffices to establish an architectural language for the museum interior.

Lobby ©TAL

With this museum, the architects at URBANUS have succeeded in achieving a symbiosis between landscape and architecture, a merging of the external context with the internal programme. Through its complex spatial assemblage, its fine materiality, the special location, and the incorporation of outstanding views over the sea, the urban landscape and the distant mountain ranges, the museum is without doubt an architectural highlight in this young city. As a Citadel of Culture with diverse linkages to its surroundings, it is a reminder of Shenzhen’s economic miracle and the protagonists who made it possible.

Preserved microwave communication station as exhibition space ©TAL

Project: China Merchants Group History Museum & Weiboshan Park
Architect: URBANUS
Client: China Merchants Real Estate Co., Ltd.
Location: Shekou, Shenzhen
Design: 2020–2022
Construction: 2021–2023
Site Area: 2,426 sqm
Floor Area: 7,014 sqm
Landscape Area: 13,733 sqm

 

Principal Architect: Meng Yan
Project General Manager: Zhang Haijun
Project Manager: Liao Mengjun
Project Architect: Yue Ran (Architecture) | Zhang Xuejuan (Landscape)

Team: Matt Eshleman, Zhu Hongrui, Sun Yanhua, Yuen Chi Wai, Yuan Ruizhe, Wen Ting, Yu Shiyao, Sun Pengcheng, Ni Ruoning, Ji Hengwei (Architecture) | Li Guanda, Gao Yufeng, Jin Xin, Ma Xiying, Pu Jinyan (Landscape) | Deng Tingfang, He Jiamin (Interior) | Lin Lingyu, Lin Siyao, Wei Tianqi, Wan Yuqing, Lin Shuyi, Liu Jiaji, Gao Qingyue, Zhang Manjia (Internship)

 

Collaborators:
(LDI) Structure/ MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing): Huasen Architectural and Engineering Design
Interior Construction: You Gaoya Decoration and Construction Industrial co., Ltd.
Landscape Construction: Shenzhen Origin-End Anchoring Landscape Design
Curtain Wall: Pag Facade Systems Co., Ltd.
Lighting Design: Handu Design Consultant (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. / zdp (z design & planning)
Graphic Design: Huangyang Design
Exhibition Design: Media Scenography Group

Photographer: TAL

East side of the third floor viewing terrace ©TAL
North-east side of the third floor viewing terrace ©TAL
Light well on the third floor ©TAL
Light well and spiral stairs ©TAL
Spiral stairs from the fourth floor to the roof ©TAL
Rooftop ©TAL
Site analysis ©URBANUS
Master plan ©URBANUS
Exploded axonometric ©URBANUS
Section ©URBANUS

Verwandte Artikel

Andere Artikel in dieser Kategorie