WEST BANK ART CENTER - DAVID CHIPPERFIELD ARCHITECTS

The aim of the deisgn is to create a special place at the riverside where visitors can visit a museum and also enjoy the riverside and the views to downtown Shanghai and the surrounding areas. Three exhibition gallery volumes approximately 18m tall define the building massing on the North, West and South sides of the site. The exhibition galleries are stacked and the heights are configured to provide clerestory lighting to the lower level galleries, while the upper level galleries are mainly top lit. In addition, each upper level gallery contains an expansive window providing views to downtown Shanghai, the local Huangpu river bank, and the park to the south. The volumes are positioned on the outer edges of the site on these three sides to create a unique space at the riverside. The central area of the building contains 3 main space defining elements; a three storey lobby with a central triple-height atrium, a single storey long café pavilion located along the river’s edge with a rooftop viewing terrace connecting the upper lobby with the riverside, and a landscaped sunken courtyard connecting the underground museum level with the riverside terrace and promenade.