Xinjiang's largest single cultural building completed and opened

Xinjiang Art Center

Urumqi, Xinjiang

"The completion and opening of Xinjiang Art Center will not only build a new platform for the development of Xinjiang's fine arts and cultural undertakings and expand foreign cultural exchanges, but it will also become a new landmark of Xinjiang's art."

—— Wang Shusheng, Director of Xinjiang Art Museum

01 Soviet-style memory in Urumqi

The Xinjiang Art Center reconstruction and expansion project is located in the core area of Youhao North Road, an important arterial road in the Shayibak District of Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Class building. The site is adjacent to the People’s Hall of the Autonomous Region in the north, and to the northeast is the Kunlun Hotel, a historic and political landmark in Urumqi, commonly known as the "Eighth Floor"

▲ Surrounding the project base is the old district of Urumqi, which is full of humanities and history 

Through the preliminary inspection of the project, we found that there is still a "Su-style" building built in 1956, covering an area of 12,000 square meters. However, due to the economic conditions at the time, the structure and construction quality were not high. If the scene description in the novel "Ingrid" provides a portal to old Urumqi, then the Soviet-style buildings in the old city provide the most intuitive way to touch the modern history of Urumqi.

▲ The old building of the former Xinjiang Autonomous Region International Expo Center

The deep and dark "T-shaped building", the Republican club in the Agricultural University, the white Nanmen big bank... represented by these old buildings, the old Soviet-style buildings that have carried the life scenes of generations of Urumqi people are also in the process of urban renewal China gradually disappeared and began to survive in the cracks of modern civilization. The flavor and memory of the city remain on this seemingly gray wall. What we want to bring to this city is not just new and beautiful modern buildings. Our design needs to be integrated into Youhao North Road. A street full of stories.

 ▲ Urumqi old Soviet architecture, national theater

"When I walked to the National Theater, the sight in front of me surprised me. All those old things became fresh, domes, stone pillars, sculptures, curves, stone steps, round windows..."

——Wang Gang, "Inglis"

Therefore, in the design, we kept the east facade in line with the outer outline of the original building, and the newly built part humbly retreated so that the original building facade can be fully presented, fully embodying the existence of the original building. Limited by the size of the original building, only 4 of the 11 art museum exhibition halls can be arranged in the original building, and more exhibition space needs to be completed in the newly built part.

▲ The main entrance of Xinjiang Art Center building

Based on the basic concept of "style survival", the newly built part adopts the "new Soviet style" design style. In the facade design, we choose to retain the facade of the old building on a large scale, and the facade of the new building is in addition to the color and In addition to the old building, the design of windows and walls was reshaped by parametric technology. The outer skin realized a reasonable window and wall transition, which was practical and novel.

▲ Interweaving of old and new facades 

02 New and existing

The main body of the project is divided into two parts, the old building at the front (formerly Xinjiang International Expo Center) and the expanded part at the rear. How to organically connect the two parts and form an open communication space is a major consideration in the design process.

Based on the consideration of the characteristics of the project, we hope to interpret the social and public meaning of the museum through a neutral but magnificent space, and try our best to describe all internal spaces in a “background” architectural language.

In our design, we conceived a completely public fictional space between the "new" and "existing" buildings-Art Street. It can accommodate all the functions of public activities, so that after the project is put into actual use, it can become a place where citizens are really happy to carry out daily activities.

▲ Art Avenue, the proportions and combinations of shapes reflect the geometric beauty of the space 

This front-to-back combination makes the functional blocks clearly distinguishable, and the heights are staggered. After finishing, the large blocks are basically mirror-symmetrical, orderly and reasonable; and in the atrium of Art Street, there are several small blocks that are connected in dislocation, making the internal space lively and interesting, just like an elite version of the urban architectural community. 

▲ The interweaving of different sizes of blocks makes the space lively

Taking the old building in the front as the main body of the art gallery's exhibition space, combined with the Art Street in the middle of the new building, some exhibition halls are arranged. The two exhibition halls have different spatial proportions and different exhibition experiences, providing diverse background possibilities for artwork display. The two parts of the exhibition space are connected by a corridor above the second floor, forming a complete circular exhibition flow line. The deconstructed interior makes it seem complicated and not chaotic that multiple arts are blended in the same space.

▲ Part of the space is connected through the corridor to form a complete circular exhibition flow line

03 A cultural feast belonging to people of all ethnic groups

As an important part of the whole project, the completion of Xinjiang Art Museum puts an end to Xinjiang’s history of no provincial art museum. The Xinjiang Art Museum was opened to the public on May 21 this year and now has 13 exhibition halls of various specifications, including 5 special exhibition halls and 8 art exhibition halls.

After opening, the Xinjiang Art Museum will assume the functions of exhibition, display, collection, and collection of national and provincial art works and art documents, and will carry out academic research, education promotion, foreign exchanges, and public cultural services.

▲ Gallery exhibition space

On the opening day of the museum, there will be 6 exhibitions in 7 exhibition halls with more than 500 works (pieces). Among them, there are 3 national exhibitions supported by the National Art Museum of China and the Art Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. We hope that in the future, visiting art museums can become a new way of life for people of all ethnic groups.

▲ Han Siju’s Chinese painting "Embodied Cui Ningxia Fang Finger Flow" was exhibited at Xinjiang Art Museum,

Photography: Faye Wong

On the opening day, the public can watch "Beauty in Xinjiang"-Fine Art Exhibition of the National Art Museum of China, "Silk Road Flying Rainbow"-Exhibition of Han Leran's Works from the National Art Museum of China, "Logic of Painting", "Farmland and Deep Feelings" ——High-quality art exhibitions such as Xinjiang Realistic Art Works Exhibition. Except for artworks with regional characteristics of Xinjiang, a large number of national and even international exhibits will also be exhibited here.

▲ Theater entrance

The Xinjiang Cultural Center enhances the public’s participation in art through the establishment of traditional cultural experience areas and related art education functions. Each floor of the museum is equipped with various function rooms and experience areas that are open to the masses for free: the first floor is equipped with cultural experience areas such as piano, chess, calligraphy and calligraphy, the second floor is equipped with a dance area and reading area, and the third floor is for vocal and instrumental music. Training rehearsal area, and the fourth floor is the training area for art, photography and calligraphy.

▲ Poria’s oil painting "Harvest Season" is exhibited at the Art Center,

Photography: Faye Wong

"The Xinjiang Cultural Center uses the best and the largest space to provide cultural services to people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, and joins various online and offline activities, hoping to encourage more people to sing, dance, and paint together."

——Wang Shuguang, curator of Xinjiang Cultural Center

Taking into account the flexibility of independent use and temporary borrowing of the museum, the internal theater of the cultural center is located in the middle of the rear of the new building, which can directly contact the entrance hall of the cultural center and facilitate the use of the museum.

▲ The interior space of the theater

04 Inheritance, a new beginning

In addition to the Xinjiang Art Museum and the Cultural Center of the Autonomous Region, the project also has a number of cultural units such as the Painting Academy of the Autonomous Region and the Research Center of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Autonomous Region. Ensure that there are exhibition halls and public activity spaces that are friendly and open to citizens, and can accommodate related institutions for pure academic research.

▲ Transportation space of the Art Center

"Intangible cultural heritage protection is not only an important way to inherit and promote excellent traditional culture, but is also closely related to strengthening national unity, enhancing people's cultural confidence, and promoting social prosperity and stability. The protection work has a long way to go and is of great significance."

——Ge Yi, Director of Xinjiang Intangible Heritage Conservation Research Center

The well-lit area around the new building is the functional space for offices, research, studios and other units, ensuring the privacy of the office space while ensuring that the work and researchers have good lighting and vision. There is an atrium on the left and right sides, which provides a good internal view of the building and also provides good lighting for the rooms around the atrium.

▲ Perspective of the internal space section of the Art Center

 On the basement level, public service facilities and some unit exhibition spaces are set around Art Street, creating an active and attractive public space. Such an underground space can not only complement the public functions of the art museum, but also serve the office researchers of other units and the ordinary people who come to the exhibition.

▲ Public space of Art Street 

In the novel "Ingrid", teacher Wang Yajun preached to the protagonist Liu Ai: "You must not only stay in Urumqi in the future, you must travel around the world. Tianshan blocks your eyes."

Today, Xinjiang Art Center stands where it should be with a familiar but more innovative attitude. People of all ethnic groups can enjoy an unprecedented art and cultural feast from all over the world without leaving Urumqi.

Tianshan is no longer an obstacle to people's understanding of the world. People of all ethnic groups sing and dance on this natural and fertile and familiar land, and enjoy the joy of humanities, art and culture.

▲ General plan of Xinjiang Art Center project