On a quiet beach along the coast of northern China’s Bohai Bay, countless years of wind have pushed the beach’s sand into a dune along the shore several meters high, stabilized by low-rising shrubs and other ground cover. The UCCA Dune Art Museum lies beneath this dune. Enveloped by sand, its interconnected, organically shaped spaces resemble caves—the primeval home of man, whose walls were once a canvas for some of humanity’s earliest works of art. Hidden between the sea and the sand, the design of the museum is simple, pure, and touching—a return to primal and timeless forms of space.

After a dark entrance tunnel, the museum suddenly opens up into connected vaults of daylight and open space. Rays of sunlight, sculpted by different openings, enter the museum and diffuse around its galleries and café. A spiral staircase leads to a lookout over the sand duns, allowing visitors to find inspiration within both the museum and its natural surroundings. Fused with nature, the Dune Art Museum is a hidden shelter for people and art. 

PROJECT FACTS:

Design Year:                      2015 - 2018

Status:                              Completed

Client:                               Aranya

Operator:                           UCCA

Program:                           Reception, Café, Community Room, Exhibition Spaces, Outdoor Exhibition, Roof Terrace

Building Area:                     930 m²

Location:                           Qinhuangdao, China

CREDITS

Architects:                         OPEN Architecture

Principals in Charge:           LI Hu, HUANG Wenjing

Project Team:                    ZHOU Tingting (Project Architect), WANG Mengmeng, HU Boji, FANG Kuanyin, Joshua PARKER, LU Di, LIN Bihong, YE Qing, Steven SHI, JIA Han

Local Design Institute:        CABR Technology Co., Ltd.

Lighting Design:                 X Studio, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, China + OPEN Architecture