Shuijingfang Museum
Chengdu, People's Republic of China · 2013
Photo · Arch-Exist
A precedent for integrating regional vernacular materials like reclaimed brick and timber with modern concrete elements to create a cohesive civic courtyard and museum entrance.
- What we like about this project
- The contrast between the highly textured, rough-hewn brick of the central gable and the smoother, grey brick of the left volume.
Materials
- reclaimed-brick
- concrete
- timber-cladding
- shingle-tile
- brick-paving
Visual identifiers
- gabled-roofline
- concrete-canopy
- reclaimed-brick-facade
- brick-paved-plaza
- timber-siding
Style tags
- regionalist
- contemporary
- material-focused
Visual tags
- vernacular-modernism
- civic-plaza
- reclaimed-materials
- courtyard
- textured-walls
- Geometry
- A series of three gabled volumes of varying textures are unified by a continuous, low-slung concrete canopy. The ground plane is a gridded brick plaza that mirrors the orthogonal layout of the structures.
- Facade system
- Load-bearing and clad masonry walls combined with timber rainscreen panels.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete frame with masonry infill and timber-framed roof structures.
- Spatial scale
- A large public courtyard or plaza scaled for civic gathering, with the building heights kept to a modest two-story profile.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct midday sun casting sharp, short shadows beneath the concrete canopy and highlighting the rough textures of the brickwork.
- Atmosphere
- A quiet, grounded civic space that feels deeply rooted in local material history despite the surrounding modern city.
- Environmental context
- An urban cultural site in Chengdu, with a modern high-rise tower visible in the distant background, contrasting with the traditional material palette.
- Spatial experience
- The low concrete canopy creates a compressed, shaded transitional gallery or walkway that mediates between the vast, open brick plaza and the textured building volumes.
- Composition rhythm
- The facade is composed of three distinct gabled bays, with a rhythmic colonnade of concrete posts supporting the horizontal canopy.
- Style reading
- Contemporary Chinese regionalism
- Program
- Museum or cultural center
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- reclaimed-brick, concrete, timber-cladding, shingle-tile, brick-paving
- Visual identifiers
- gabled-roofline, concrete-canopy, reclaimed-brick-facade, brick-paved-plaza, timber-siding
- Style tags
- regionalist, contemporary, material-focused
- Visual tags
- vernacular-modernism, civic-plaza, reclaimed-materials, courtyard, textured-walls
- Geometry
- A series of three gabled volumes of varying textures are unified by a continuous, low-slung concrete canopy. The ground plane is a gridded brick plaza that mirrors the orthogonal layout of the structures.
- Facade system
- Load-bearing and clad masonry walls combined with timber rainscreen panels.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete frame with masonry infill and timber-framed roof structures.
- Spatial scale
- A large public courtyard or plaza scaled for civic gathering, with the building heights kept to a modest two-story profile.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct midday sun casting sharp, short shadows beneath the concrete canopy and highlighting the rough textures of the brickwork.
- Atmosphere
- A quiet, grounded civic space that feels deeply rooted in local material history despite the surrounding modern city.
- Environmental context
- An urban cultural site in Chengdu, with a modern high-rise tower visible in the distant background, contrasting with the traditional material palette.
- Spatial experience
- The low concrete canopy creates a compressed, shaded transitional gallery or walkway that mediates between the vast, open brick plaza and the textured building volumes.
- Composition rhythm
- The facade is composed of three distinct gabled bays, with a rhythmic colonnade of concrete posts supporting the horizontal canopy.
- Style reading
- Contemporary Chinese regionalism
- Program
- Museum or cultural center
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture