Framed landscape sequences. Zhejiang Museum of Natural History by David Chipperfield Architects
02/03/2020.
[Huzhou - Anji] China
metalocus, AGUSTIN GAMARRA
metalocus, AGUSTIN GAMARRA
Description of project by David Chipperfield Architects
Founded in 1929, the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History is located in Hangzhou and has a collection of over 200,000 specimens covering geology, ecology and palaeontology. The eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang is the site of many important discoveries from the Cretaceous period. A new, second branch of the museum has been established in Anji, in the north of the region, forming the centrepiece of a new cultural district.
The new museum is set on a sloping site in a large natural park surrounded by bamboo forests and overlooking rice fields in the valley below. It comprises a loose infrastructure of spacious exhibition halls, taking into account the large scale of some of the exhibits: Dinosaur fossils and life-size models, large-scale wildlife dioramas, accompanied by multimedia and interactive exhibition elements.
The staggered composition of the eight, single storey, bar-shaped pavilions step down the hillside. They follow the natural topography, minimising the visual impact on the landscape, and frame an open garden. A loggia, or covered walkway, loops around this central space, mediating between the external and internal areas of the museum.
At the northernmost point, an entrance pavilion welcomes visitors and offers views over the central garden and landscape beyond. Located on either side of the garden, each exhibition hall can be accessed directly or in sequence following the stepped loggia. The southernmost pavilion faces out towards a lake at the lowest end of the site.
The solid forms of the pavilions are embedded within the dense landscaping of the central garden and the surrounding parkland. The planting extends onto the green roofs of the building complex which is rendered in red ochre to match the clay earth of the hillside site, reinforcing the relationship between the museum and the landscape.
Sir David Chipperfield CBE. AA Dipl., RIBA, RDI, Hon.FAIA, BDA, RA, Hon Doc (Kingston). David Chipperfield studied at Kingston School of Art and the Archtectural Association in London. After graduating he worked at the practices of Douglas Stephen, Richard Rogers and Norman Foster.
In 2004 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to architecture. in 2006 he was appointed Royal Designer for Industry (RDI), and in 2007 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (Hon. FAIA) and an Honorary Member of the BDA (Bund Deutscher ARchitekten). In 2008 he was elected a Royal Academician (RA) and awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Kingston University.
In 2009 he was awarded the order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany - the highest tribute that can be paid to individuals for service to the nation - and in the UK New Year Honours 2010 was named Knight Bachelor for services to architecture in the UK and Germany.
1984 Office of David Chipperfield Architects established in London