Lianzhou Museum of Photography (LMoP)
iCity   Dec 30.2020

Introduction

Lianzhou, a small city locates in the northern mountain area of Guangdong, has witnessed the miraculous 13 consecutive years of Lianzhou International Photography Festival, one ofthe most important photographic artevents in China. Construction of the photography museum is considered as the generator of the old downtown’s revitalization plan, and at the same time, a tribute to the city’s past. Lianzhou Museum of Photography (LMoP) was chosen to build in South Zhongshan Road, which local people cordially called “Old Street”, a place full of localtraditions and memories.The original site is an old candy warehouse which has been the main venue for the last 12 photo festivals.

Reason to Be Selected

Below the successively foldedslopes of the canopyarea series of galleries, inter-linked by outdoor corridors, and staircases, with exhibitions and public events taking place under one roof. The preserved building and the new U-shape extension create a rich vertical variation of the interior of the building. The U-shape gap garden in-betweenkeepsa distance and necessary contrast between the two structures.

Highlights:

LMoP is comprised of two interlocking buildings, one preserved existing 3-story concrete-frame building, and one U-shape new building constructed on the spot of two demolished wooden structure buildings. Acomposed façade-roof canopy of the newbuilding shapes the roof skyline of the museum, fully respecting the urban fabric of theold town.

Details

Almost all of the construction materials come from local. Exterior surface of the continuous façade-roof canopy is composed of gray shingle collected from demolished old houses in urban and rural areas nearby mixed with local dark schist called the West Bank stone, which is also used on the ground floor and the supporting walls of basement level.
The only non-local industrial product, delicate soft and translucent PVC corrugated tile, is used on the inner surface of the thick and rustic façade-roof canopy.It brings a hint of warmth beyond the neutral-color architectural background (a basic requirement for photographic presentation)and, with LED lighting behind, provides a gentle soft light to the entire sheltered, and even indoor exhibition spaces.
The architect tries to break down the institutional and commemorative tradition of the museum into a three-dimensional exhibition tour that is co-existed with the old city’s morphology.Fragmented sceneries of the old city and everyday life have been juxtaposedto the experience of a journey of the serious and abstract modern photographic art, but sometimes sarcastic contemporary photographic art.

Conclusions

On top of the façade-roof canopy, an open-air theater with a V-shape section sits right above the main exhibition hall, in connection with a steel terrace cantilevered from the preserved building’s flat-roof, forming the climax of the entire spatial tour of the museum.

 



Lat: 24.77
Lng: 112.38
Type:
Region: Asia
Scale: Building
Field: Civilian
City: Guangzhou