Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art

Shanghai, China

Museums + Galleries

Architects: Atelier Liu Yuyang Architects (ALYA)

Location: Shanghai, China
Year: 2005
Client: Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art
Architect/Project Team: Liu Yuyang, Keith Yee, Tynnon Chow, Larry Tsoi
Building Area: 4000 m2
Design Period: 2003
Construction Period: 2005

The story of the Shanghai MoCA is that of an architectural "Cinderella"-an abandoned greenhouse in the park, transforming into a "Princess" of contemporary art. A series of geometric glass volumes were added to the structure, dissolving the predictable form of the original glass pavilion. The diagonally-laid "Mongolian Black" stone cladding over the existing concrete building gives a much subdued yet differentiated expression, highlighted by the deep-recessed stainless steel window frames that are intentionally mis-aligned. A sweeping curvature of glass-and-steel ramp "dances" through the existing reinforced concrete columns in different tangential relationships, allowing for a circumscribed and ascending viewing of large-scale installations placed in the center of the main exhibition space.