#morphogenesis

MUSEUM, SCULPTURE, SHELL

MAD : www.i-mad.com

The City and Art museum in Ordos appears to have either landed in the desert from another world or to always have existed. From atop a dune-like urban plaza, the building is enriched with a convergence of naturalistic interiors, bathed in light. The result is a timeless architecture in a modern city of ruins.

Influenced by Buckminster Fuller s geodesic domes, MAD envisioned a mysterious abstract form capable of fostering an alternate, timeless development of Chinese tradition and future. Whilst the surface of this shape functions as a metal container critical to protect the interior from the harsh winters and frequent sand storms of the region, metaphorically this external layer operates as a shield protecting the precious culture and history of the city from the unknown growth of the city.

Location: Ordos, China

Typology: Museum

Site Area: 27,760 sqm

Building Area: 41, 227 sqm

Building Height: 40 m

Directors: Ma Yansong, Yosuke Hayano, Dang Qun

Design Team: Shang Li, Andrew C. Bryant, Howard Jiho Kim, Matthias Helmreich, Xiang Ling, Linda Stannieder, Zheng Tao, Qin Lichao, , Sun Jieming, Yin Zhao, Du Zhijian, Yuan Zhongwei, Yuan Ta, Xie Xinyu, Liu Weiwei, Felipe Escudero, Sophia Tang, Diego Perez, Art Terry, Jtravis B Russett, Dustin Harris

Associate Engineers: China Institute of Building Standard Design & Research

Mechanical Engineer: The Institute of Shanxi Architectural Design and Research

Fa ade/cladding Consultants: SuP Ingenieure GmbH, Melendez & Dickinson Architects

Construction Contractor: Huhehaote construction Co., Ltd

Fa ade Contractor: Zhuhai King Glass Engineering CO.LTD

Photographer: Iwan Baan