Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum by KSP Jurgen Engel Architekten in Nanjing, China

An art museum, with a series of narrow rectangular slits across the façade, was designed by KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten in Nanjing, China. It was called Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum. The building showed two u-shaped structures which a central glass-roofed atrium engaged. Tall widows broke up the travertine stone façade. The sheet metal panels that overhanged at a right angle, shaded.

KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten, Deutschland (Peking / Frankfurt/Main) designed themuseum for traditional, Chinese art, and collaborated with its Chinese partner company Nanjing Kingdom Architecture Design Co. Ltd. It was located in the cultural center of Nanjing and in the immediate proximity of the historical Presidential Palace of today’s provincial capital. The new Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum was one of the most important museums in south-east China. It accommodated the space for temporary exhibitions. It situated a permanent collection featuring traditional Chinese art. The traditional Chinese art described the cultural wealth of Nanjing, which was one of the oldest cities in southern China. The archive rooms in the Museum stored the sizeable collection, which fulfilled the technical and strict conservation requirements. After the National Li- brary of China in Beijing was completed, the German company KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten designed its second significant cultural building in China. The eye-catching new museum, which won first prize in a competition in 2006, raised a several urban references from its deeply historical location. The main entrance oriented the main city square, Daxing Gong Shi Min Square.

In addition, the two flanking thor- oughfares: Zhongshan (or Revolution) Road, and Changjiang (or Culture) Road, was followed the two structures of the Museum that stand at slight angles each other. A space, which consisted of a light glass roof, was created The two interlocking u-shaped buildings. The two stone halves of the building was connected this 17-meter high access area, which tightened at its two main entrances. The visitors were guided into the Museum. In the northern building, clear exhibition rooms of varying sizes provided ideal conditions to present the works of art. The exhibition area with the southern element was linked two bridges spanning the glass-covered intermediate space. In addition to training, conference and office space, this building also consisted of the VIP area and the auditorium with seating for around 400 people.

The sheer number of storeys was obscured by the travertine natural stone facing with its narrow window indentations. So, the overall monolithic impression of the museum building was reinforced. Simultaneously, rhythm in the façade was created the alternation between vertical stone panels and window slits with sheet metal jutting out at the sides. Collaboration with Stuttgart-based German engineers Breuninger developed the structural frame and the delicate construction of the glass roof.

via: http://duldule.com/2011/01/the-building-design-of-jiangsu-provincial-art-museum-by-ksp-jurgen-engel-architekten-in-nanjing-china/