Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum is located at east part of the Suzhou Horticultural Exposition Park, in a reserved village near Taihu Lake of Wuzhong District, Suzhou. The site is surrounded by rivers on its three sides, and the design is inspired by its natural environment and the traditional culture of the city- Suzhou. Our strategy is connecting different scattered functions by courtyards and outdoor corridors in order to generate the spatial experience of traditional building types. In consideration of local climates, it allows visitors to walk through those outdoor corridors between different courtyards when raining. The main spaces located in the courtyards are designed with identities, such as the dome theater covered by laminated bamboo louvers with green vegetation, the iconic cloud installation on the roof-top platform of the museum lobby, the observation tower that overlooks the surrounding view in distance and the restaurant at the water-front.
To meet the program requirements and reduce the negative impact on natural environment, the majority of the volume is covered by green roof. It amplifies the theme of blending the boundary between architecture and nature. The Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum offers people a large amount of information and interactive experiences during their visit. Three atriums create natural ventilation and lighting, and direct visitors to the roof exhibition platform. It forms a public park with various types of vegetation where outdoor performances, dining events as well as educational and interactive experience can take place.