Ningbo Historic Museum / Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio

Feb 2009

Uploaded by Nico Saieh — Filed under: Museums and Libraries ,Selected , China, Iwan Baan, Stone, Wang Shu Architect

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Iwan Baan shared with us one of the latest works he photographed, the Ningbo Historic Museum designed by Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio.

An amazing stone work, more pictures after the break:

Cite:
Saieh , Nico . "Ningbo Historic Museum / Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio" 22 Feb 2009. ArchDaily. Accessed 04 Feb 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/14623>

Comments (86)
Tweets (11)
Links to this entry (34)

Ankhu says:

Argly!! sham of the chinese Architector

# February 23, 2009 at 01:06

dashen says:

what’s argly? If u mean ugly, it might be. but how u judge every chinese architector by single project.

# July 14, 2010 at 12:39

Zosim says:

khuynia!

# July 15, 2010 at 17:46

Ankhu says:

A perfection finale of foolish bureaucracy and overconfident Architector cooperateing.

# February 23, 2009 at 01:17

christos says:

excellent architecture…it looks as if it has been there for ever…very architecural in terms of making use of local building typologies and materials.

# February 23, 2009 at 01:49

Zobby says:

Wow this is very impressive. I thought this was in a desert. it has the quality of an ancient wall. Zumthor has spiritual followers in China !

# February 23, 2009 at 02:44

Leo says:

Ankhu，ud better improve your poor English spelling first.

# February 23, 2009 at 02:52

borja says:

that is a lame comment, Leo

# May 29, 2010 at 10:55

Ankhu says:

hehe I see^^

# February 23, 2009 at 03:23

wen says:

amazing. the stone work is just amazing

# February 23, 2009 at 03:53

Thomas says:

The outside walls are just amazing, like archeological layers unfortunately the inside simply looks like it belongs to another building. I also wonder if a timber deck is suitable for that type of architecture. No comment about the site implantation…Where is the site?

# February 23, 2009 at 04:16

Thomas says:

The outside walls are just amazing they look like archeological layers. Unfortunately the inside simply looks like it belongs to another building. I also wonder if a timber deck is suitable for that type of architecture. No comment about the site implantation…Where is the site?

# February 23, 2009 at 04:17

One says:

Quite busy, Not sure if this is a very Chinese, looks like a deformed work of Zumthor. If so then it is not too original…

# February 23, 2009 at 05:14

Zobby says:

WTF are you talking about One, never heard of the Great China Wall ? just Google it and you will understand.

# February 23, 2009 at 05:36

Zobby says:

GREAT WALL OF CHINA.

# February 23, 2009 at 05:38

One says:

Well I see. Huuumm.. Does this wall also have Profilit horizontal glass and sloping concrete walls? These two elements creates uniw=que feature of this building. I would rather love to see thins building ONLY with this wonderful mason wall.

# February 23, 2009 at 05:43

Miguel Sá, Arqt says:

Daria um bom exemplar para o próximo filme de guerra das estrelas | Would make a good exemple for the next movie of stars wars

# February 23, 2009 at 05:49

Chris says:

It’s amateur thats for sure. Doesn’t know what it wants to be.

# February 23, 2009 at 05:56

antonio says:

hi christina I would like to meet you and kwon more about your impressions.

Antonio

# September 8, 2009 at 08:49

roadkill says:

Very nice building indeed; it is quite refreshing to see Chinese architects reinventing an almost pastoral style of architecture in such contrast to Europe – it is the New Vernacular style!

# February 23, 2009 at 05:56

Arman says:

It’s hideous. Sticking to the outside, the use of divergent materials is appealling in historic buildings, since they depict different moments in construction, different constraints, stories… here, they are purely cosmetic, like a permanent costume for an historic reenactment. I find quite illustrating of the quality of the building (and the designer’s intention) the simple fact that no interior picture show the purpose of the windows in the surface. Pure Bang!chitecture. Zumthor’s spiritual followers? try Zumthor’s esthetics’ followers instead. Amateur ones.

# February 23, 2009 at 07:57

Ian says:

Some harsh criticism for a project we have only seen very selected photos for and no text…

I can say that it appears that too much is happening for a site with little or no context… But I would like to hear something about the method of deployment for materials.

And Arman… is it hideous because of the factors you state or purely as a matter of your own aesthetic sense?

# February 23, 2009 at 08:39

Ceno says:

I like this one, the using of materials for the walls are outstanding, not like other that occasionally use the masonry as walls

# February 23, 2009 at 09:28

Katsudon says:

Just Great! Before i saw it was Wang Shu, before i saw it was in China, i had my eye stuck on the glimpse of picture i had in my mail box and recognized this as a great project! This guy is great and with few other chinese architects will save China from crap! Amazing poetry to see how he reused the beautiful walls that you can find in the small villages surrounding Ningbo. In those villages, people reuse old materials to dress their walls with colored patchwork while respecting the old building techniques! Those villages are exemplary in the way they offer renewed dwelling in preserved typologies! I guess here, Wang Shu’s interpretation is both a reaction to the program and the climate and also a reaction of protection against the more agressive environnement of this aweful urban planning. I can tell you that to get to this point of creativity on a public building in China it asks a lot of persecerence and fighting spirit! I don’t know how this guy negociates with his clients but obviously he convinced some persons in Ningbo after the Modern Art Museum and the sustainable Villas projects. I hope i can meet him soon!

# February 23, 2009 at 09:34

Viqui says:

Amazing! Timeless and solid between sparkling new cardboard architecture.

# February 23, 2009 at 09:57

Urbanite says:

It’s quite beautiful.
I love those ancient looking texture marrying the very sharp geometric shapes.
I don’t mind the interior except the escalator and the ceiling.
I wish, the site was in the middle of the desert where people have to take half day or whole day to travel to see the building…well…just my thought…
It seems like the landscape work is not quite finished, yet.
But, don’t you think, the landscape is too flat and squre for the design of the building? I wish, they designed mounds with different elevations.

# February 23, 2009 at 11:30

Opium says:

The walls are just fabulous and transmit a sense timeless.But i find the building in all to be extremely incoherent. From the ouside it looks like a less minimal zumthor..in the inside courtyard it looks like mansilla e tuñon and on the inside it looks like something from oma with that horrible ceilling and mechanical staircases…silent and sober on the outside..loud and fashionable on the inside…i don’t know…either the architect is young or he needs phycoanalisis to find out his architectural personality…

# February 23, 2009 at 11:59

roadkill says:

typically there’s some laziness in this type of post:
very little text, not drawings and only promotional photos with only one interior shot… lets try a bit harder guys

# February 23, 2009 at 12:31

Richie says:

I find it amazing and slightly bizarre on first inspection, like some hybrid of modern architecture and a medieval castle. I think the external treatments are unforunately overdone (the 10 different types of finish\pattern randomly applied in a weird collage effect) which clashes with the peacefulness that monolithic stone would normally achieve. The interiors seem quite impressive.

# February 23, 2009 at 12:39

roadkill says:

great concrete – great to see some bamboo shuttering used to such great effect

# February 23, 2009 at 14:39

roadkill says:

by the way Richie, Aalto used many different types of brick for his summer house and it is seen as work of genius – because this is in chine made and designed by Chinese people it is bizarre?

# February 23, 2009 at 14:41

roarkus says:

sorry roadkill, no comparison

# October 28, 2010 at 05:00

gerson says:

Impressive work-reflects the great spirit of western education and the lost of far-eastern architecture tradition
no doubt of good architects completing their architecture education in Europe and emigrating back to their native country with a lot of imported knowledge, a good transition of actual western Architecture

# February 23, 2009 at 15:39

D says:

Gerson:
Wang Shu was fully educated in China.
Same story with another rising chinese star, Urban China’s Jiang Jun. You don’t need Columbia to be a rockstar.

# February 23, 2009 at 16:44

Ian says:

Roadkill: I think you have to consider in the case of the aalto summer house the scale of the project. A strategy employed on the scale of a house may not be as effective on a huge complex. Just looking at the first photo, it’s hard to imagine being able to touch or place your glass on the masonry work 40 ft in the air… which is part of the enjoyment of the Aalto.

It is an interesting comparison though… did not think of it myself.

# February 23, 2009 at 16:56

M says:

looking good….the selection of materials and their use is really nice.

# February 23, 2009 at 17:22

archdork says:

fascinating architecture! east meets west! old meets new!
beautiful and subtle blending of materials and colors! I just can’t take my eyes off!

# February 23, 2009 at 20:49

Richie says:

I was going to make the same comment as Ian in response to Roadkill, i.e. the scale of the Alto house is so much smaller that the effect is very different. Also, the brick styles in the Alto house were done in a very subtle way, whereas the contrast in stone patterns on this exterior is quite drastic. I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad effect, I just find the end result sort of cluttered or chaotic looking and I think the building might be better if a simpler approach had been taken.

# February 24, 2009 at 04:44

Carl says:

At first glance it has to be said the building looked a little ugly. However, once your eyes adjust you begin to pick up some of the brilliance of the design such as the slanting walls etc. I also think the landscape makes the building look less “clumsy” than it would maybe appear in a more intimate setting.

# February 24, 2009 at 13:47

patsch says:

its just a cold building. Its more like a monument, than a place to meet.

# February 24, 2009 at 18:43

Jeremy says:

Its a museum not a pavilion. The museum is simply a monument; a monument to history, genius, talent, etc. The material choice is great, the only problem I have relates exactly to what someone pointed out earlier, it looks like it is in the middle of the desert but instead its placed into more of an urban context. Once I realized that I questioned the choice.

# July 14, 2010 at 09:07

daniel says:

it’s quite special.

# February 24, 2009 at 22:43

maninred says:

The dark grey and yellow part of the wall, as you see in the picture, are made of tiles (瓦，in Chinese) which used in the roof of traditional Chinese houses. The rest of the wall are made of stones and grey bricks. All these surface martirial are widely used in Southen China. Inside the building also reminds me of Longtang or Hutong (弄堂). Very Southen China.

However, I don’t like the steel ceiling and wooden floor, I think cement is better choice.

# February 25, 2009 at 20:12

Viki says:

I think it would be better if there are less inclines, windows and trees…

# February 26, 2009 at 00:54

YS says:

horrible….

# February 26, 2009 at 02:51

SillyBug says:

Takes courage to undertake such a design.
I think it is…magnificent.,
wow…

# February 27, 2009 at 10:27

maguoli says:

it’s a very specially idea，but the surface of the building is a little complex…..

# February 27, 2009 at 23:58

sunx says:

the complex wall reminds me of my old house in the countryside ; ~
Wang got the ancient materials such as bricks &red tiles used which we chinese meet every day many years ago.
He keeps the precious memory well . As a chinese we really need this special thoughts , so maybe this building was kind of urgly but its meaningful to those who actually use it , i dont wanna have a mess of morden buildings surrounding such an old town Ningbo

Forgive me for my poor English!

# March 9, 2009 at 08:34

Deele says:

Oh my god, it looks so beautiful!

# March 17, 2009 at 20:56

Taylor says:

I’ve never given this a try, but I think it’s about time I do.

# March 30, 2009 at 17:19

lorzo says:

Why the f++ everyone has to mention about Zumthor when something similar appearance shows? Study the history !!

# April 7, 2009 at 22:01

RipBang says:

wow. the dry stack style walls are history in and of themselves. bravo.

# April 14, 2009 at 19:08

NM says:

“One of the most experimental and outspoken architects of China, Wang Shu, born 1963, surprised the world at the 2006 Architectural Biennale Venice with the Chinese contribution “Tiles Garden: A Dialogue Beyond City, Between an Architect and an Artist” in which he presented an installation of a sea of grey Chinese tiles, crossed by a bamboo bridge. Those tiles, thousands of them, came from demolition sites in China, where old structures were being replaced by new building complexes. Wang Shu shows how recycled and familiar materials (tiles and bricks) can be used in very contemporary architectural projects. He is referring to large scale demolition so common everywhere nowadays in China and how to keep up traditional modes of living in a rapidly changing context. At the moment, he is constructing five highrises of 100 m height each at Hangzhou, where traditional floorplates of two level housing with courtyards are stacked on top of each other. Wang Shu is Professor and Head of the Architecture department at China Academy of Art, Hangzhou.”

# April 15, 2009 at 19:48

NM says:

By the way, I see a similar approach working almost anywhere where stone, or earth for that matter, was used in traditional architecture.

an archaic-looking fortressy (yet intelligently laid out) structure like this would also work magic if anyone dared to put it in the middle of a capitol of the so-called First world.

# April 16, 2009 at 20:25

MovingCities says:

For those interested in knowing more about this building and its architect, we just published “Local Hero | Wang Shu”, an interview by Bert de Muynck with Wang Shu (Amateur Architecture Studio) that was published in MARK Magazine#19. The interview took place in December in the then recently completed Historic Museum in Ningbo. Wang Shu talks about the above Historic Museum and explains his design philosophy by going deeper in some of his recent constructions like the Contemporary Art Museum (Ningbo), Five Scattered Houses (Ningbo), the Historic Museum (Ningbo), Xiangshan Campus (Huangzhou) and the Ceramic House (Jinhua).

http://movingcities.org/movingmemos/amateur-architecture-studio-publication/ [post]
http://movingcities.org/interviews/local-hero-an-interview-with-wang-shu/ [interview]

# April 20, 2009 at 04:56

fadi says:

The urban context in the perspective view is touchy…i think the whole conceptual idea is strong…

# May 16, 2009 at 15:54

majchers says:

Amazing and very brave. I love the use of various finishes on elevations. Great project. Very appealing.

# June 3, 2009 at 11:27

idot says:

WTF

A tomb with many coffins？

# June 19, 2009 at 07:09

meeftah says:

well done!

# July 2, 2009 at 00:02

yes says:

incredibly beautiful and inspiring project

# July 16, 2009 at 14:48

addman says:

i like it :)

# July 22, 2009 at 23:42

epi says:

massive building – but i like the breaks on the facade – and the different stone-layout

# August 2, 2009 at 11:34

Phil says:

Where is this beautiful building? I’m moving to Ningbo soon and I’ve searched all over the internet in English and Chinese for the address, but to no avail. Please someone tell me where it is.

# August 25, 2009 at 02:26

goblock says:

Its prefect matching the local material and culture….just like it….
By the way, Hey, Moving Cities, do u know where can get the MARK Magazine in China? if u know that pls sent the address in my mail goblock@qq.com Cheers!

# August 31, 2009 at 03:43

kBc from Botswana says:

Great piece!!!It actually tells what it is from outside!!!it have that historic feel to it and its a HISTORIC museum!!!!!!!
ey um working on designing a historic museum n need plans and sections of this.If any1 knows any thing that could help,send it through please….

# September 23, 2009 at 06:10

Al says:

There is something wrong with it. Maybe looks like some ancient ruins but maybe like some worthless garbage. It may therefore be beautiful or really ugly. It’s somehow questinable.

# November 22, 2009 at 11:46

Tosh says:

Looks like a very beautiful pile of rubbish :)

# January 22, 2010 at 19:38

Ben says:

外牆好像是回收的建材?

# January 23, 2010 at 08:10

KK says:

Would be 1000% better if it includes some green creeping up the facade…

that will pull itself away from the Zumthor stony look…

# January 24, 2010 at 23:31

Chenxi says:

he is my favorite chinese educated architect.

# January 25, 2010 at 16:11

ioana says:

absoluteley stunning, a modern day wonder

# January 25, 2010 at 23:01

chase says:

love it. Finally something original and not just fluff.
I like the fact that they didn’t go the way of the typical Chinese look. Pagodas are nice and all but not all architecture in China needs to be inspired by it. China is modernizing and it’s new architecture will reflect that. I find that it is usually us westerners that have a problem every time an Asian country does something that goes contradictory to the stereotypes that we have of them. As if they must keep building traditional Chinese building just to make us happy.

# February 17, 2010 at 17:25

_gb— says:

Ta bueno:
http://j.mp/bNLWff

# June 27, 2010 at 12:30

JD Carling says:

I keep coming back to view this project.
SUBLIME, for me anyways!

# June 29, 2010 at 09:20

nozhan says:

very nice.
I am from IRAN.
China, like IRAN is an old Country with very old history.
In this place you can see the Ceramic map that arrive to my dear IRAN, Siraf port (oldest port of IRAN) Rey city (Now capital city of IRAN), Nishaboor city, Mina Port in south.
You can see 2 IRANI men that chinis people are coprating with him.GOOD.I Love china too.
Just you should put some one there who could speak Eng and now the history to help us and the Taxi was my problem.
So best always my dears

# July 5, 2010 at 00:24

corto says:

spectacular…

# September 15, 2010 at 09:18

Adel says:

exteremly nice.really historic and modern!

# September 28, 2010 at 16:57

rubi says:

i went there, just love it ,even though reusing old material is not a new idea,the building looks great

# September 30, 2010 at 01:57

Citiarc says:

Wang Shu is not a zen monk but a local hero, he is fighting a tough war in China – ground zero. Architecture is beyond aesthetic issues. Read more about him. He offers hope to the world. I hope he has ur support.

# October 24, 2010 at 13:58

damien chwalisz says:

the responses are almost as interesting as the building – i wonder how many architects, how many digi heads (greg lynn etc) and how nmany artists ahve come to comment, you should all leave your profession and some of you should consider for a fractio longer what you are actually saying on world stage
ps, , exquisite building more for formal manipulation of a tricky material, interior and exterior need to be nothing alike, zumpthor? … no way., i would dearly like to meet the architect and dicuss their ideas

# October 28, 2010 at 04:56

how to make beats says:

It does seem that everybody is into this kind of stuff lately. Don’t really understand it though, but thanks for trying to explain it. Appreciate you shedding light into this matter.

# October 29, 2010 at 20:48

Humane Mouse Trap says:

must be people entitled To their humanity or in most cases are they granted their humanity? Is an unborn little one (embryo/fetus) entitled To it’s humanity upon conception or sometime in the time of gestation, or is this granted this’s humanity upon birth? in most cases are disabled persons who probably are managed like non-persons entitled how to their humanity do to they’re human, or achieve they have how to “generate” their humanity, or be granted their humanity, using proving that they’re intelligent adults capable of reasoning The way The Rest of us attain?Does posessing humanity every have a lot To accomplish by being human?

# November 6, 2010 at 13:25

Legalsounds says:

Pretty impressive article. I just came across your site and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.

# November 20, 2010 at 15:45

Alex Fakhoury says:

Liked your posting a lot. I’ll be browsing your site regularly. I observed it on google

# January 8, 2011 at 13:47

standaarddozen says:

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# March 15, 2011 at 06:23

granit says:

a new plot to ascendant money shopping there.

# November 26, 2011 at 23:26

3:24 PM Jul 14th

Wade Goodenberger

Awesome building. RT Ningbo Historic Museum / Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio | ArchDaily http://bit.ly/cBvL02

12:20 PM Sep 28th

JeongUk Park

http://bit.ly/9dOd3q Ningbo Historic Museum / Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio, 이거 정말 멋지구먼- 왜 이제 봤지..

10:56 AM Sep 29th

Magnus Strom

Makes me think of Zumthor… Ningbo Historic Museum / Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio | ArchDaily http://t.co/X9kuK3P via @archdaily

6:48 PM Oct 2nd

Steven Chavez

http://www.archdaily.com/14623/ningbo-historic-museum-wang-shu-architect/

10:37 AM Dec 9th

HolcimAwards

Wang Shu, Holcim Awards Winner, complets the Historic Museum in Ningbo China. Pushing local materials & traditional craft http://ow.ly/3mnjA

12:34 PM Dec 30th

堀井義博

実にシブい。 http://p.tl/–_E 内部空間に、この外部空間の作り方のシブさがあまり活かされてないのが惜しいが、ぜひ実物を見てみたい。杭州に事務所を構える Amateur Architecture Studio の仕事。

8:20 PM Jan 31st

a shameia

Ningbo Historic Museum / Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio | ArchDaily http://t.co/kXiCJq9 via @archdaily

9:00 AM Mar 20th

Chris Veeneman

Incredible surfaces on this builiding: Ningbo Historic Museum Amateur Architecture Studio | ArchDaily http://t.co/INTIlY6 via @archdaily

8:33 PM Sep 27th

Wang Shu, http://t.co/nyUDp6CN 이건 외피가 꽤 좋다.

2:59 PM Oct 17th

ron wommack

Ningbo Historic Museum / Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio | ArchDaily http://t.co/zQGFqhGE via @archdaily

8:43 AM Oct 24th

Ningbo Historic Museum / Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio | ArchDaily http://t.co/bruZlQGC via @archdaily

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