This project is located in the hometown of traditional calligraphy, Shuyang, Jiangsu province, and is positioned as the calligraphy art gallery to display and inherit Shuyang calligraphic style.
Project Name: Shuyang Art Gallery
Studio Name: UAD
Project Location: Intersection of South Nanhu Road and Xueyuan Road, Shuyang County, Suqian City, Jiangsu Province, China
Project Type: Art Gallery
Project Area: 10475 m2
Design Scope: Architecture, Structure, Water Supply and Drainage, Electric, Heating and Ventilation, Landscape
Architectural Design: The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd.
Project Leader: DONG Danshen
Architecture Design: CHEN Jian, NI Jian, CAI Yi
Structure Design: WEI Kaizhong, WU Shuai
Water Supply and Drainage Design: Zhou Xin
Electrical Design: LI Ping, YE Jin
Heating and Ventilation Design: PAN Dahong, ZHANG Minmin
Landscape Design: CAI Xiao’ang, WANG Hui
Photographer: ZHAO Qiang
The concept of architecture abstracts the most fundamental three colors, black, white and red of Chinese calligraphy from rice-paper, brush-pen, seal and creates a pure space experience with pure colors. The aesthetic interest of the calligraphy in the architectural layout referring to Zheng Banqiao’s calligraphic style is to respond to the ideological and practical work, the light and heavy, and the opening and closing of the calligraphy through controlling the size of the building, the space, the contrast of the materials and so on.
The largest exhibition hall along the street has the red-bricked exterior wall, like a condensed seal printed on the elegant scroll of ink and wash. The way of cutting the corner through the arc surface strengthens the iconic character of the building along the street, forming a unique lasting appeal. Red brick is Yixing clay brick, adopting three kinds of lining according to the different locations. The lower brick head outstand the wall, and the upper part intrudes the wall, and cut part is flatly lined, forming different textures.
The ink volume and angle are cut and painted with dark grey fluorocarbon paint, and the wall presents a subtle color change in the blue sky, such as the giant stone, such as the ink block, with a simple and profound texture. At the bottom of the body, the rounded corners are processed to show the sense of gravity in calligraphy.
The white volume selects prefabricated concrete hanging board, and the surface is treated with vertical chisel, such as rice-paper, which formed delightful contrast to the smooth and fine ink surface. The bottom of the body is overhanging to show a floating state, reflecting the spirit of detachment in calligraphy.
The tranquil water in the entrance is set up to keep off the noise of the outside world, and the visitors are introduced into the gallery by a bridge on the surface of the water. The continuous transition of space makes the visitors compose the mind quickly before entering the exhibition hall.
All the exhibition halls are open space without columns, which can be arranged freely according to the exhibition needs. Glass corridor connects the exhibition halls, in order to facilitate continuous exhibition. In the middle of the red bricked exhibition hall, there are light wells through 3 floors, which create bright and transparent indoor space.
The space relationship is controlled by the layout of “sparse enough to run horse, dense enough with no needle”. It is close to keep a narrow lane of only 2 meters wide. Both sides are pure black and white volume, making people feel to walk among the books. The space will turn to open courtyard and create an open space effect。
There is a gray space in the way that the volume of the body is dug in introverted manner, and the outdoor space can be extended into the indoor rest area. The tourists can enjoy the interesting space experience during the visit. The paved road and roofed courtyards are inspired by the abstract pattern of the ink spreading. Through the different grayscale changes of the granites in the paved fields, an ink painting is formed.
UAD
The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD) was established in 1953. With a history of more than 66 years to date, it is one of the earliest First Class Design Institutes among major national universities.
The company now has more than 1200 employees, which include 1 Master Engineering Designer of China, 1 expert entitled to Special Governmental Allowances of the State Council, 2 Top-100 Architects of China, 4 Master Engineering Surveyors and Designers of Zhejiang Province, 4 Outstanding Engineers of China, 10 Awardees of the Young Architect Prize of the Architectural Society of China; 122 National First Class Certified Architects, 81 First Class Certified Structural Engineers, 26 Certified Planning Engineers, and 168 other Certified Designers.
The mission of UAD is to create harmonious environments, a global vision, complete services, and the highest professionalism. During the past decades, UAD has always persisted in creating fine and innovative works, contributing a large number of outstanding works in various fields. Over the years, it has won more than 1200 awards for outstanding design, excellent projects or research outcomes at national, ministerial, and provincial levels, as well as 18 international awards. Business scope covers: various public and civil architectural design; urban and rural planning and urban design; interior design; landscape architecture and landscape design; municipal public works; geotechnical engineering; curtain wall design; BIM design; light environment design; ancient, contemporary, and modern building repair and protection as well as cultural relics protection planning; steel structure design; underground space design; construction project general contracting; engineering consulting and energy conservation assessment for all civil construction projects.
UAD actively and extensively seeks international academic exchanges and joint engineering designs, having cooperated with well-known design companies or firms from the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Japan, the Netherlands and other countries to complete a variety of architectural designs.
Since its establishment, UAD has always persisted in combining design, teaching and research. Based on the resources of Zhejiang University, UAD relies on Academicians of the China Academy of Engineering and the China Academy of Sciences to support the blossoming architectural creations and the active participation in competitions. UAD was awarded Top-One Hundred Architectural Design Institutes in China, Top Innovative Surveying and Design Company, Top-Ten Research and Design Company in Hangzhou, and was among the first members of the National Engineering Practice and Education Center.
Over the past 66 years, UAD has always adhered to the spirit of “seeking truth and innovation” and followed “Excellence and Perfection” as its quality guideline, dedicated to providing quality designs and services for all sectors of the community, and striving to achieve the core values of “design creates common value”.
