preston scott cohen: taiyuan museum of art, china

‘taiyuan museum of art’ by preston scott cohen, shanxi, chinaimage © preston scott cohen

cambridge-based architect preston scott cohen has shared exclusive images with designboom of the nearly completed taiyuan museum of art inthe northern chinese province of shanxi. the architecture is a responsive composition of the urban greenery of the site and encourages seamlessness between public and private space. the group of buildings is a network of continuous and discontinuous promenades that create a veritable architectonic landscape. hardscapes, lawns and sculpture gardens are in dialogue with the adjacent fen river and create an intimate connection between the city, cultural institution and nature. rules of access dictate the interior circulation and are organized by a multiplicity of cores and vertical circulation strategies mediating between the required flexibility of curated space and the specificity of the expanding and contracting architectural makeup. the building’s exuberant gesture is the parametrically generated skin. lightweight honeycomb panels with a stone veneer create an impressive envelopethat is at once monumental and ethereal in its reflection of light.

the waterside building in contextimage © preston scott cohen

the form is conceived as a network of interior and exterior promenadesimage © preston scott cohen

image © preston scott cohen

entry rampimage © preston scott cohen

exterior courtyard under a cantilevered volumeimage © preston scott cohen

terraceimage © preston scott cohen

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project info:

client:    taiyuan city governmenttotal area: 32,500 m2construction budget:    6,500 rmb/m2project schedule: winner of the international competition, 2007; design, 2007-2010; construction, 2010-2013project team: preston scott cohen, inc., cambridge, ma; preston scott cohen (architectural design); amit nemlich (project architect);collin gardner, hao ruan, joshua dannenberg (project assistants); yair keshet (model); architecture design and research institute of south east university , taiyuan (architect of record)