Reinventing Cultural Architecture

A RADICAL VISION BY OPEN

TEXTS BY CATHERINE SHAW FOREWORD BY ARIC CHEN CONTRIBUTION BY MARTINO STIERLI

Drawing on a series of conversations and site visits to six recent groundbreaking projects, architecture writer Catherine Shaw describes how Beijing-based OPEN Architecture is reinventing and responding to China’s complex and fast-changing cultural landscape with projects that mark a new era for contemporary Chinese cultural architecture. OPEN Architecture was founded in New York in 2003 by Li Hu and Huang Wenjing, while their Beijing office opened in 2008.

From a contemporary art gallery buried beneath a sand dune to a sculptural open-air theatre in a remote mountain valley near the Great Wall, co-founders Li Hu and Huang Wenjing re-evaluate conventional Western assumptions about culture and design as they base each pioneering project on the needs and pleasures of humanity within the context of diverse terrains and climates. In doing so, they not only consider how cultural architecture looks, but how it works.

Projects are presented with commentary and contextual information as well as new analyses and archival material, including outstanding color photography, plans and drawings, and exploratory sketches.

This book provides a fresh perspective on contemporary cultural architecture and place making, highlighting the architects’ sources of inspiration, their challenges, and their construction methods, showing how each impactful project responds to China’s distinctive context.

Catherine Shaw is an independent architecture, design, and art critic and published author. Originally an urban planner, she writes extensively on architecture, design, arts, and craft in Asia.

192 pages, 9K x 11” 140 color illustrations HC: 97-8-88-9183195-8 $50.00 Can: $67.50 UK: £35.00 March 8, 2022 Rights: World English RIZZOLI

A radical vision by

Catherine Shaw

“For us, nature is everything, not just plants, so the movement of the sun and changing colours and the textures on the wall during the day are very important considerations. We never start designing with a particular image in mind. Instead, we think about the sensation of moving through the building because that means we consider the different materialities and drama and how they make you feel.”

Li and Huang are both particularly intrigued by the interaction between water and sand creating an ever-changing texture throughout the museum. Broken seashells that have been in the sea for a long time fascinate them too.

“Ancient Taoism follows the flow of nature instead of competing with it. A humble symbiotic relationship with the natural environment is of benefit to everyone, so we always try to view our work from this perspective.”

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