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Vector Architects have completed the Changjiang Art Museum, located in its namesake village built in 2016 to cater to rapid urban development. The museum serves as a cultural link between the residential community and the culture of the city, encouraging a sense of place and connection amongst a brand new built environment.

“Changjiang Art Museum, as a cultural and shared space that will serve the public in the future, attempts to establish a contemporary response commemorating the traces and atmosphere of the human construction that ever existed on this piece of earth,” explain the architects.

A southwest section of the corner building’s lower level is carved out to accommodate an outdoor staircase, leading upwards through the museum to an open terrace, with a landing at street level. The second level terrace functions as a raised courtyard with a tree at its centre, serving as a space for public activities. A public footbridge connects to the street, and can be used independently from the museum to accommodate both museum visitors and commuting local residents.

The staircase and angled openings for windows form angular shapes across the pale brick building’s otherwise solid volume. Board marked concrete on the interior walls references the pattern and configuration of the outer facades. Floors and balustrades were finished with timber, and the brick and concrete walls are painted white to create bright, textured exhibition spaces. Windows throughout provide glimpses of the contemporary cityscape of Taiyuan.

Galleries are arranged around a full-height open void, which serves as an organisational anchor for the museum. Visitors begin at the base of the void, travelling upward via a spiral staircase through the galleries, looking into the void through apertures at different levels. Inside, natural light is filtered and softened by skylights that penetrate through a coffered ceiling beam.

“As we see it, Changjiang Art Museum is like a solid block of brick – occupying a specific space-time coordinate, bearing witness silently and attentively to the clamorous and ever-changing city around it,” conclude Vector architects.

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