Project Details
- Project Name
- Jishou Art Museum
- Architect
- Atelier FCJZ
- Project Types
- Cultural
- Project Scope
- New Construction
- Shared by
- Madeleine D'Angelo
- Project Status
- Built
This article appeared in the September 2020 issue of ARCHITECT as part of expanded coverage of the 2020 AIA Architecture Awards.
Exemplifying the shift away from so-called “weird” buildings that Chinese President Xi Jinping condemned in a pivotal 2014 speech, the Jishou Art Museum from Beijing-based Atelier FCJZ is a model of modesty and authenticity—a contemporary building with a vernacular flair.
The city of Jishou, the capital of the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, is located in southeast China; even amid the country’s rapid industrialization, the city and surrounding area have maintained a sense of history and a unique cultural identity connected with its large population of non-Han minorities—in particular, the Tujia and Miao people.
Atelier FCJZ used the regional landscape, full of meandering rivers and rocky valleys, as a starting point for the museum’s parti: Arching over the Wanrong River in the heart of town, the building comprises three levels supported by two structurally distinct stacked bridges. Up top, a shallow-arch supports a gallery for the permanent collection of paintings. The span below supports an open-air pedestrian throughway within the depth of its trusses, with a Kunsthalle-like temporary exhibition hall above. Supporting functions (including staff spaces and a café) are housed in anchoring buildings on either side. Reflecting the museum’s mission, the whole is devoted to the work of local artists and artisans.
As tailored to the city as the work inside, the building does double duty as an actual bridge: Visitors can stroll along the lower level behind the open screen of its steel truss, which is painted gray to match the neighboring buildings and purpose-built to handle the flood-prone Wanrong.
Project Description
This project won a 2020 AIA Architecture Award.
FROM THE AIA:
Unlike other contemporary cultural institutions in China, the Jishou Art Museum in the regional capital of Xiangxi is centered in the community. By not treating this project like a separate, freestanding monument, the museum makes art more accessible to Jishou’s residents and makes encounters with art on their way to work and school much more likely.
Firmly cemented in the city’s urban fabric, the new museum straddles the Wanrong River and functions much like a pedestrian bridge. Covered bridges called fengyu qiao, meaning wind and rain bridge, are common in this mountainous region of China, and the design is a contemporary interpretation of the time-honored building type. The introduction of art as a program element helps translate the formal language of the traditional bridge into a modern context.
The museum itself comprises two bridges, one atop the other. The lower level pedestrian bridge is an open steel truss structure, reminiscent of a roofed-walkway, prepared for flooding of the Wanrong. The upper level is a concrete arch, cast in-situ, containing a painting gallery. Between both bridges, glazed walls and a tiled shading system enclose the museum’s main hall that houses temporary exhibitions. Supplementary spaces, including a shop, teahouse, and administrative offices, are housed in the bridgeheads at either end.
Flooding was the major concern of the site, and to meet local flood prevention requirements the lowest point of the museum sits above the 50-year flood like. The steel trusses on the pedestrian level were designed to maximize openings and to cut through tree branches carried by flood water.
Renowned artist Huang Yongyu, who is a native of the region, first proposed the idea of an art museum in the city, supported it as a major donor, and informed its programming and design. Rather than collect art, the Jishou Art Museum showcases the work of local artists with the community in an effort to promote Xiangxi’s arts and culture. Open to the public for free, its location in the center of Jishou and its function as a bridge help fulfill the museum’s mission in a creative way.
