OCT Design Museum by Pei-Zhu in China
The OCT Design Museum, in Shenzen (China) is a very original project. The concept is inspired in a captured water droplet.
During daytime the triangular windows and skylights perforate the naturally inspired surface in a seemingly random pattern that evokes the scattered reflections of light from a surface of water.
The philosophy for the project comes from both the location being close to the bay and from the needs of the program, a surreal space for design exhibitions.
The OCT Design Museum focuses mainly on fashion shows, product design, and conceptual automotive shows.
The goal was to create a space that is surreal to the subject matter but also transcendental in surrounding and feeling.
The design of the interior relies on a continuous white curving surface that casts no shadows and has no depth.
The result is a surreal borderless space that seems to go on into the infinite, similar to the feeling of a James Turrell installation. The effect is like being in a cloud or dense fog.
The building becomes a blank surreal background, with only small triangular windows scattered randomly, as if they were birds in flight.
Typically an automobile looks very heavy but in this limitless space it becomes weightless, letting its curves, shadows, and intense colours become the focal point of the show.
The first floor of the building holds the entry lobby and café, while the second and third is mainly exhibition space.
Storage space is spread out evenly through the floors, with movable walls allow the exhibition spaces to be very flexible in scale and function.
The exterior form of the building is a direct reflection of the continuous curving space inside.
The smooth organic form has a similar surreal yet transcendental effect when seen outside in its urban setting.
Set into its landscape, the building’s form seems to float above the ground, as if it was not from this planet.
The OCT Design Museum occupies 5000 m2. Being 300 meters from the Ocean, the architect was inspired by a drop of water but also by the smooth stones that are scattered on the beach. It is like a purely smooth stone cast in a not very saturated urban environment.
The building consists of four parts, each 22 or 24 meters wide, capable of absorbing sufficient light and natural ventilation. The spaces between branches become semi-enclosed patios.
The firm has won international competitions to design the future Guggenheim Museum in Beijing and Guggenheim Art Pavillion in Abu Dhabi.
For this one, the Studio Pei Zhu created a floating building that is a bridge from the city. The floating mass creates continuous public space at building base providing clear view angles from the city to the park.
The chinese firm Studio Pei Zhu is based in Beijing, China. It was founded in 2005 by chinese architects Pei Zhu and Tong Wu.
Their projects primarily explore and experiment with nature in the context of urban china. They aim to contribute to a regional variance of contemporary architecture appropriate to its local context.
