Guangdong Museum

Guangdong Museum (Rocco architects) is one of the four cultural landmarks for Zhujiang New Town of Guangzhou, China.

Conceived as an Objet d’Art in a monumental scale, it is an allegory to the impeccably and intricately sculpted antique Chinese artifacts of a lacquer box, which collects and reflects treasures of the times. The museum is designed to house objects of treasure, and is also a treasured object of fascination. It is an identifiable cultural icon, giving visitors a memorable experience on the traditional wisdoms as well as the appreciation of the cultural identity of the city.

The spatial arrangement of the museum takes its conceptual reference from the carvings of the legendary Chinese ivory concentric balls. Each carving slices through the museum box and reveals different layers and varying degrees of transparency and dialogues between the interior halls in an intricate and explorative way, which is then extended and reflected on the external façade design.

Using materials including aluminium panels, fritted glass and GRC panels, each elevation is uniquely tailored and expressed with different geometric voids recessed into the building mass, forming interesting volumetric patterns that echo and corresponds to the interior spaces behind.