The Atelier Diameter architectural studio renovates and expands an exhibition hall belonging to the Nanjing University of the Arts in Nanjing, a city in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu.

This project will be part of the complex of buildings of a small art school located in an area known as the "Creative Street District". The project seeks to fuse the creativity of art with the tradition of the area.
Atelier Diameter team's project seeks to continue the legacy of the existing atmosphere of the university campus, an artistic context with 60 years of history.

The entrance level is planned as an exhibition space called the "Antique Tile Research Exhibition Hall", and the upper level as the "Antique Oil Painting Restoration Exhibition Hall". Both rooms are connected to the outside street and the original bridge.

The structure is made of exposed concrete which maintains its original texture and tries to evoke the appearance of the oil brushstrokes found in the paintings. We find in turn a series of arches that will be the ones to endow this space and transform it into a sculptural place.


GIF. Art Gallery Extension of Nanjing University of the Arts by Atelier Diameter.
 

Description of project by Atelier Diameter

Double-theme exhibition hall

The gallery was endowed by a company. Nanjing University of the Arts found an open space among the crowded dormitory buildings, preparing to use the public housing space on the ground floor of the original 46th dormitory to renovate and expand a two-story art exhibition hall.

The lower level is ‘Ancient Tile Research Exhibition Hall’, and the upper level is ‘Ancient Oil Painting Restoration Exhibition Hall’. The theme of the two exhibition halls is Chinese and Western. So, the separate management is required and the exhibition halls need to be unconnected to each other. Considering the plain co-ventilation of art and tradition, we designed a small house of fair-faced concrete called ‘The Concrete Exhibition Hall’, and used the reverse arc of the inner arch to pull up the upper and lower floors to provide the two themes with the opportunity for dialogue.

Community creation

The complex of the new dormitory buildings is a living area called ‘Creative Street District’. The ‘Concrete Exhibition Hall’ is in front of the 46th high-rise dormitory, faces a small square between the buildings, and the outside of the hollowed-out wall in the east side is the city road - Hu Ju North Road. In the west side, there is a stone-paved pedestrian street of the university which is lower from north to south, filled with cafes, book bars and various creative shops. It is quite popular.

The school is a small society. When constructing a building in an art school and building it in a lively dormitory area at the same time, maintaining and strengthening the good sense of community in the area became the original intention of the design. Each floor of the building is connected to the street and the original bridge, which is better accessible.

We went one step further by squeezing out an outdoor space from a limited building area and creating a penetrating vaulted veranda on the second floor, attracting people from several directions to move towards the cohesive square.

Modification and extension

Nanjing University of the Arts is a model for the transformation and upgrading of the old campus in Jiangsu Province. It has been adhering to the original site for more than 60 years. Although the campus area is narrow, the new and old buildings are interspersed with the hillside plants. The spatial levels are vivid and rich, which is deeply loved by teachers and students. The addition of this ‘Concrete Exhibition Hall’ is still a continuation of the original method of school's construction. The interior decoration is the main modification method, the expansion part is very small. And reinforcing original joint by embedded steel bars was used at the junction of the two to meet the new technical specifications.

Here, the key point of the renovation and extension is not technical breakthroughs and the increase in the number of areas, but the continuation of the campus's rich artistic life atmosphere, and attracting students' spontaneous gatherings and activities through the characteristics of the place.

Space and appearance

The double arches inside and outside give this sculptural little house a touch of the color of the western art space, but one of the inspirations of the space prototype is actually the Wuliang Hall of Linggu Temple in Nanjing. The special texture of the outer arched fair-faced concrete is a metaphor for the brushstrokes of oil paintings and the fragments of ancient ceramics, but more of it brings a gentle sense of security to the person in the room. This feeling will be further enhanced by the warm light at night.

In order to give space to the incense in the yard, the corner of the building along the street made a setback, which also provided a geometrical modelling opportunity for the descending stairs. Behind thisarc wall, the light spreads over the stairs, making the solemn arcade space add a lively atmosphere.


 
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Architects
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Design team
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Lead architect.- Zhang Nan. Yang Junwei, Zhang Xiaoyuan, Sun Xiao, Ou Renwei. Structure Design.- Jian Jin, Yulong Qiu, Yong Liu, Feng Wang.
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Collaborators
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Design institute.- ZhongSen Architectural & Engineering Designing Consultants. LTD.
Water and Drainage Supply Design.- Yujin Huang.
Heating and Ventilation Design.- Lingye Song.
Electrical Design.- Kelan Cao.
Lighting Consultant.- Ning Field Lighting Design Corp. LTD.
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Client
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Nanjing University of the Arts.
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Area
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565 sqm.
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Dates
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December, 2016 - June, 2019.
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Location
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Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
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Photography
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Atelier Diameter is an architectural practice led by architect Zhang Nan since 2015. The studio is part of Shanghai Johnson (Zhongsen) Architectural & Engineering Designing Consultants Ltd. based in Shanghai.

Over the years, Zhang Nan has participated in and presided dozens of projects of various types as a design leader. These projects include urban renewal, industrial renovation, cultural public building series, university educational building series, large public buildings, cultural tourism hotels, and industrial plants, etc.

He has published more than ten articles on design and museums in multiple core professional journals. He is the executive editor of the book The Profound Beauty: Planning and Architecture in NAU. He has also participated in the compilation the sub-volume on Museums in Expo Architecture in Architectural Design Information Collection (Third Edition). Design works of his have been selected into multiple albums, such as Chinese Young Architects 188, Perspective of Chinese Architecture 1993-2010. Selected Works of ASC Young Architects Awards, Beiyang Ingenuity – Alumni Works Collection of School of Architecture Tianjin University, etc.

His works have won multiple international and domestic provincial and ministerial awards, and he received the 6th China Architecture Society Outstanding Young Architecture Award in July 2017.

Member of the Committee of Vertical City and Complex Building, the Architectural Society of China (ASC), Council Member of the Architectural Society of Shanghai China (ASSC), Member of the Academic Committee of ASSC, Member of the Architectural Design Professional Committee of ASSC, Member of the Creative Academic Department of ASSC, International Member of International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

External Supervisor for Professional Master, School of Architecture and Urban Planning Chongqing University, External Supervisor at Southeast University Graduate School, Professorial Senior Architect, Research Fellow at Architectural Heritage Research Center, Chinese Academy, China Construction Technology Consulting Co., Ltd.
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Published on: April 29, 2022
Cite: "Artistic tradition. Art Gallery Extension of Nanjing University of the Arts by Atelier Diameter" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/artistic-tradition-art-gallery-extension-nanjing-university-arts-atelier-diameter> ISSN 1139-6415
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