STUDIO A +
Photos : Chen Su , Fang Chun
With the façade of the new art gallery as the backdrop , the sculptures commemorate ordinary workers in a special language of art .
ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIOR SPACE Positioned at the point where a pedestrian shopping street ends from across the road , the gallery building invites people in and engages them with a pleasant journey with art .
Perpendicular to the parallel lines of landscape , the gallery building floats above the ground and gives way to the landscape that runs through the site . The building becomes a floating scene , with a specially designed envelope derived from a fragment of ‘ forest ’. The floating structure forms a series of semi-outdoor space that hosts various art activities .
The indoor journey begins at a grand entry stairway , leading visitors directly to the lobby and an open multifunctional space on the second floor . The VIP lounge and conference room are immediately adjacent to the open space , where activities such as opening ceremonies can take place .
Two exhibition halls – one large and one small - are placed on the 3rd floor and only open to the sky partially . Space around these two boxes is liberated in such a way that the building skin is highly permeable and the indoor and outdoor are blended instead of being separated via this interface . The spaces can accommodate temporary non-official art shows . Walking along it , people can enjoy both the indoor art exhibition and the nature beyond .
LIGHT AND COLOR There are three major types of interior spaces in the gallery : the core spaces , i . e . the exhibition halls , where the daylight gets in vertically from above through the skylight ; the spaces outside of the core , the promenade corridors and free spaces they connect , where the daylight gets in horizontally from side windows ; and the grand staircase , somewhere in between . Inside the grand staircase , the daylight is sourced mainly from the skylight above , while horizontal daylight and views can also be borrowed through side openings from adjacent spaces .
The color of the exterior , the white and dark grey , are from the local ‘ Hui ’ style traditional building ( mainly black and white ). Pink ( cherry blossoms ), yellow ( rape flowers ) and green ( young leaves ) are applied to interior skin to echo the local landscape in spring time . The inside of the exhibition halls is painted white to ensure best lighting quality and artworks are best displayed . A fresh and bright green color is applied to both inside and outside of the grand staircase to give the space a character intentionally . When people start the journey with art on the first step , they would feel like they stepped into a painting to become the leading role of the stage .
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