A Gem Hidden in the Rainforest

Art has always been the driven force for WIDE HORIZON, a famous real estate developer,  to motivate the cohesion of a community. Located at Jiangdong New District, Haikou, the capital of Hainan Province, Luxe Art Gallery is a modest earth-sheltered building that stands in a panoramic ecosystem of oceans, rainforests, rivers and lakes.  Luxe Art Gallery serves as not only the sales center of the Lu Island project of WIDE HORIZON, but also an art museum. In the future, it will be performed as the art “power supply”, to nourish the urban environment and improve the diverse urban life experience.

Jiangdong New District is located on the east coast of Haikou, with an abundant water system and coastline resources, including water, forest, farmland, lake and grass. The landscape design of this project starts from understanding the land feature, and miniaturizes the relations between tropical rainforest resources and water systems of Hainan Island, presenting the uniqueness of a tropical island to visitors.

AN INVISIBLE ARCHITECTURE

The architecture was designed by 40 Studio. The art decoration was curated by Mr. He Duoling, a famous artist in China, who integrated a series of art pieces naturally into the interior spaces. The final architecture seems to be “disappeared”, hiding itself among the trees and grasses.

Hainan Island is a volcanoes-gathered city. The architect took the inspiration of “earth-sheltered” characteristics for Luxe Art Gallery, and designed it into a circle. The outer circle is covered with earth, while the inner one is built with glass façade from top to down. Therefore, this building is thick and heavy on the outer side and thin and light on the inner side. 

Looking from outside, the architecture is “closed”, by contrast, while the inner space transmits a feeling of openness. The circle got “chopped off” on the end towards the lake and being inserted with two floating glass boxes, thus, the external scenery was maximumly introduced into the interior, indicating the beginning and end of the building.

ART SPACE ON THE MOVE

From the park to Luxe Art Gallery, the visiting path is quite interesting for the visitors. Firstly, it sinks onto the bottom of the "sea". When visitors walk continuously, it gradually goes below the water level. Visitors will feel themselves walking through the water, and then gradually approach to the main entrance of the museum, the highest part of the building.

The interior decoration of Luxe Art Gallery was designed jointly by Song Zhen, Deputy General Manager of WIDE HORIZON Decoration Center, and Enjoy Design. In accordance with the circular spatial flow of the building, the main space is divided into two parts by an arc partition wall. Two independent moving streamlines interweave and meander on both sides of the wall, sometimes parallel and sometimes crossing, bringing rich spatial experience to visitors.

The visiting streamline takes the unique artistic atmosphere as the main axis and gradually guides visitors into the room to explore the dynamic, pure and vibrant theme scenes of Luxe Art Gallery. The sand table area is enclosed by curved walls, and visitors can see the sunlight flowing down there, which shapes different spatial portraits in a day.

The curved walls formed the outdoor garden. The interior of the building opens to the nature, with the floor-to-ceiling windows displaying the tropical atrium like a screen. Visitors will be immersed in the interaction between the building, the nature and natural light at Luxe Art Gallery.

Three main colors, i.e., black, white and gray, minimal decoration, and large-area layered treatment express the design concept and spatial logic of Luxe Art Gallery.

In addition, the lighting design emphasized the arc ceilings. In the future, large-scale artworks can be displayed in the gallery. The designers are also the curators of the space, and the logic of artworks is composed of "human system" and the " penetrating rock system". A series of sculptures, Rock Codes, created jointly by Song Zhen and the sculptor Wan Shengyi, scatter across the space, implying that Hainan presents the geological characteristics.

The solidified rock at the entrance evolves into the flowing lava and time marks as visitors move, creating surreal scenarios and moments. In addition, the rock plays a role in constructing a narrative language and bridging spaces.

The artists created the three groups of sculptures, Stop, Track and Gaze, from their in-depth study on human movements, so that different human forms can be adapted to different areas.

The primitive rainforest implies the origin of life. The rock geology builds a reference system of time, in which people walk, think and evolve. These all were abstracted into artistic expression...... Luxe Art Gallery is a space and also interesting medium to trigger a series of spiritual campaign.

ART BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER

The design focused on the interaction between artworks and visitors. Therefore, the design sets visitors’ experience prior to the architecture’s existence itself, which transmits the design philosophy and respect to the subjects of space of Luxe Art gallery.

This is also the original intention of WIDE HORIZON on the creation of Luxe Art Gallery, a connecting point where people and art coexist. Jiangdong New District will become a new residential area, featuring advanced technology and cultural strength. An international community culture led by art will be born.