Mysterious design of the Anxingdui Ancient Shu. Museum
Mysterious design of the Anxingdui Ancient Shu. Museum,
MAD Architects in China have revealed an impressive design for the Sanxingdui Ancient Shu Museum of Cultural Heritage.
The design features a set of wooden structures that interact with the ancient landscape of the area,
to create a unique experience for visitors and tell the stories of the mysterious Sanxingdui civilization.
What led to an urban garden where humanity and nature, past and future, can converge.
Design Location
“The Eyes of Sanxingdui” is located in the western district of Guanghan City, Sichuan Province,
and an area with archaeological identity, closely related to the ancient Shu culture of southwest China.
The area also includes cultural relics that have been discovered, dating back approximately 4500-2800 years ago.
These discoveries and the ancient nature of the area have qualified the area for progress,
and for recognition as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO, jointly with the nearby Jinsha site.
Design Features
In this project, MAD Architects provided the new museum, visitor service center and a network of landscape strategy,
connecting the buildings together and with nature.
Covering a total area of 90,000 square meters, the projects, once completed,
will include all activities related to the cultural relics unearthed in Sanxingui; To combine display, protection and search.
The eyes of nature and ancient civilizations
Sanxingdui is home to many cultural relics, including longitudinal bronze eye masks and large standing bronze figures with unique and elaborate shapes.
design shape
MAD Architects designed six wooden structures spread across the site in an east-west orientation.
The visitor center is the first building located east of Xiangxin Road and covers a floor area of 5,830 square meters.
The five buildings of the new museum also extend to the west,
where the new wooden buildings vary in size, covering a total area of 30,000 square meters.
After sunset, the lighting inside the six buildings makes it look like torch-like eyes behind the bronze pots and golden masks of Sanxingdui.
Mysterious design of the Anxingdui Ancient Shu. Museum
This forms a link between the tangible and the intangible and allows visitors to wander between the different timelines of history.
The wooden envelopes also interact with the surrounding landscape from the outside – indoors,
during the day, the wood allows for column-free space.
This allows MAD Architects to create an open and inviting environment and to maximize the design with flexibility of rotation.
Moreover, the skylight on the roof is an abundant source of natural light for the museum.
When humanity meets nature
The garden is a place where humanity meets nature, and as a result,
the new concept was envisioned as a system that weaves and interacts with its surroundings rather than a single massive structure.
Wherever possible, the concept respects and preserves the site’s existing trees and water elements,
incorporating them into the landscape strategy that complements the new pavilion’s building.
This approach by MAD gave the new buildings and existing landscapes a sense of harmony.
The north-facing exhibition hall and other program blocks interact under a green roof,
forming an undulating environment.
Visitors can also enjoy a 360-degree view of the Scenic Park and river,
by taking a leisurely walk from the north side of the Duck River to the green rooftop on the second floor.
Visitors can also continue their experience after exiting the new museum,
by visiting the Digital Experience Hall, formerly known as the Bronze Pavilion.
Also, the Cultural Preservation and Restoration Exhibition Center,
and the Study Hall (currently referred to as the Comprehensive Pavilion).
Visitors can also discover Sanxingdui culture, from a variety of angles and viewpoints on this stroll along Saved Street.
The new Sanxingdui Museum should be more than building housing cultural artifacts,
and it should establish an environment in which people’s thoughts and spirits can be set free and fly.
So that people can feel the impact of Sanxingdui civilization engraved on the current civilization,
and the human spirit thanks to the intersection of artifacts, air and nature.
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