‘OCT design museum’ by studio pei zhu, shenzhen, china image © designboom

 

 

 

led by chinese architect zhu pei, designboom received a tour through the construction site for the ‘OCT design museum’ by beijing-based practice studio pei zhu while in shenzhen, china. positioned within a cultural, recreation and entertainment development along the gulf, the spheroidal exterior evokes the imagery of a water droplet captured in time. its unique shape attracts visitors through the encompassing public plaza. the shell inclines outward from a constrained footprint to form an integrated overhang while a cantilever extends to encourage circulation below, guiding visitors around the building towards the entrance.

 

the lustrous metal cladding of the curved facade mirrors surrounding activity while triangulated windows and skylights mimic the scattered illuminated reflections found on the water’s surface. the array of penetrations similarly introduce dappled streams of daylight within the internal atrium.

 

see designboom’s initial coverage of this project during early design phases here.

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion plaza construction image © fang zenning image courtesy studio pei zhu

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion plaza construction image © fang zenning image courtesy studio pei zhu

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion plaza construction image © fang zenningimage courtesy studio pei zhu

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion plaza leading towards the museum image © designboom

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion stepped platforms for seating in plaza image © designboom

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion installation of stone pavers image © designboom

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion view from adjacent plaza image © designboom

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion view through the site’s palm trees image © designboom

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion museum signage image © designboom

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion stairs rise along the angled facade image © designboom

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion top of the stairs image © fang zenning image courtesy studio pei zhu

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion mezzanine corridor image © fang zenning image courtesy studio pei zhu

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion overlooking into the double height atrium image © fang zenning image courtesy studio pei zhu

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion double height atrium lined with triangulated skylights and windows image © fang zenning image courtesy studio pei zhu

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion double height atrium image © fang zenning image courtesy studio pei zhu

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion tour passing through upper mezzanine image © designboom

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion zhu pei discussing with minsuk cho of korean practice mass studies during tour image © designboom

shenzhen OCT design museum by pei zhu nearing completion zhu pei portrait © designboom

— the 2011 SZHK biennale in shenzhen, china ran from december 8th through december 11th 2011. the scale of certain projects is such that the architect becomes not only a designer of buildings but also city planner and landscape architect and the shenzhen & hong kong bi-city biennale of urbanism \ architecture reflects this in its theme: architecture creates cities – cities create architecture. the SZHK biennale is the first to focus on urbanism as an ongoing theme to explore issues of the city as an active agent in contemporary culture. the program included more than 30 exhibitions, symposiums, panel discussions and performances. terence riley has been appointed chief curator (he is the first international curator for the event). the hong kong edition will work to complement the shenzhen biennale in an integrative way and is curated by gene king and anderson lee currently under preparation and due to open in february 2012. designboom is the principal international media partner of the SZHK biennale.

‘shenzhen builds’ designboom was given the opportunity to visit the construction site of the terminal extension, as part of the program ‘shenzhen builds’. the buildings being built in shenzhen today are setting international standards for most of the building types: the ‘shenzhen builds’ exhibition, curated by terence riley, focuses on 5 new and upcoming buildings in the city by coop himmelb(l)au / wolf prix, massimiliano and doriana fuksas, OMA / rem koolhaas, urbanus, and atelier FCJZ / yung ho chang. on show are models, animations and drawings, including other developmental materials to demonstrate how these projects were conceived. designboom will cover this exhibition in upcoming articles, please stay tuned for more to come.