Atelier Alter and Hordor Design create Chinese history museum with 'anti-gravity feel'
by Tom Anstey | 17 Jun 2015
Architects Atelier Alter and Hordor Design Group have collaborated to create the new Qujing Culture Center in Yunnan, China.
The museum will house some of China’s oldest and most precious artefacts, including a collection that dates back to the start of life on earth.
The building has been designed to create an 'anti-gravity' feel – its huge structural parts are stepped out to mirror the stairs below and balanced on a small podium at one end, so it appears to be hovering.
The Qujing Culture Center, developed on behalf of the Qujing Culture and Sports Center Building Commission in Yunnan, was led by Yan Huang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Planning Commission. Atelier’s Yingfan Zhang and Xiaojun Bu operated as design architects for the project, while Qiuda Lin and Weining Lin of Hordor were project architects. Forth Construction of the Yunnan Architectural Engineering Group were general contractors for the CN¥177m (US$28.5m, €25.3m, £18.1m), 202,361sq ft (18,800sq m) development.
The architects played in every plane to create the new museum Credit: Atelier Alter
The building's upper section is stepped out to mirror the steps below Credit: Atelier Alter
One end of the museum rests on a plinth, giving the impression it's floating Credit: Atelier Alter
Designed to offer an “anti-gravity” feel, the structural element of the the Qujing Culture Center reflects the stairs below Credit: Atelier Alter
The museum sits in an extensive area of hard landscaping Credit: Atelier Alter
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Architects Atelier Alter and Hordor Design Group have collaborated to create the new Qujing Culture Center in Yunnan, China. The museum will house some of China’s oldest and most precious artefacts, including a collection that dates back to the start of life on earth. The building has been designed to create an 'anti-gravity' feel – its huge structural parts are stepped out to mirror the stairs below and balanced on
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