Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum is located at east part of the Suzhou Horticultural Exposition Park, in a reserved village near Taihu Lake of Wuzhong District, Suzhou. The site is surrounded by river on its three sides, and the design is inspired by its natural environment and the culture of the city – Suzhou.
Our strategy is connecting different scatterd functions by courtyards and outdoor corridors in order to generate the spatial experience of local building types. In consideration of local climates, it allows visitors to walk through those outdoor corridors between different courtyards when raining. The main spaces located in the courtyards are designed with identities, such as the dome theater covered by laminated bamboo louvers with green vegetation, the iconic cloud installation on the roof-top platform of the museum lobby, the observation tower that overlooks the surrounding view in distance and the restaurant at the water-front.
To meet the program requirements and reduce the negative impact on natural environment, the majority of the volume is covered by green roof. It amplifies the theme of blending the boundary between architecture and nature. The Suzhou Intangible cultural heritage museum offers people large amount of information and interactive experiences during their visit. Three atriums create natural ventilation and lighting, and direct visitors to the roof exhibition platform. It forms a public park with various types of vegetation where outdoor performances, dining events as well as educational and interactive experience can take place.
Location: Suzhou, China
Client: Suzhou Taihu Horticultural Expo Industrial Development Co., Ltd.
Design Firm: Vector Architects
Principal Architect: Gong Dong
Project Architect: Chen Liu
Site Architect: Yang Zhou
Design Team: Yi-Chi Wang, Dongping Sun, Dan Zhao, Bai Li, Rae-Hsuan Hou, Pin-Chen Yeh, Yilun Wang, Kai Zhang
LDI: Suzhou Institute of Architectural Design Co.,Ltd.
LDI Project Architects: Shuang Cai
LDI Architects: Wang Yin, Zhang Xiaofeng, Wang Wei
Structural Engineering: Ye Yongyi, Bian Kejian, Tan Qian
MEP Engineering: Zhang Guangren, Chen Kaixuan, Wang Haigang, Ji Jian, Zhu Hehu, Li Yang
Structure: Concrete Structure
Material: Exposed concrete, White Stucco, Laminated Bamboo Slate, Glass Curtain Wall
Building Area: 14,000㎡
Design Period: 10/2014-02/2015
Construction Period: 02/2015-04/2016
Photo: Chen Hao, Eiichi Kano
