ZHEJIANG MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY -

ANJI

From a cultural and museological point of view, the museum operates in a similar way to the Liangzhu Musuem, with single black box exhibition interiors offering adaptability for an undetermined collection including objects of varying scale. The emphasis is therefore placed on the building and its relationship to the landscape.

A composition of eight single-storey pavilions stepping down the hillside frame an open space conceived as a central garden. In total they respond to a twelve-metre difference in height between the northern and southern boundaries of the site. Their rectangular forms are set at right angles to the slope.

A loggia, or covered walkway, reminiscent of classical cloisters, mediates between the central garden and the exhibition pavilions, between inside and outside, between the natural and the manmade. At the northernmost point, an entrance pavilion welcomes visitors and offers views across the central space and the landscape beyond. On either side of the garden are the exhibition halls. These can be visited independently by crossing the garden or in sequence following the stepped loggia. 

Green roofs spill over the edges of the building, while water features prominently in both the central garden and the larger park. The pavilions are rendered in red ochre matching the clay earth of the hillside site in which they are embedded, reinforcing the relationship between the museum and landscape.

Credits: David Chipperfield Architects