X Museum is designed to become a new cultural place for the younger generation in the city of Beijing. Contemporary art is constantly evolving in our time of endless information and their complex intersections. How should one shape our cultural spaces in response to such times of uncertainty?
TEMP aims to rethink how art spaces could be imagined first by asking the most basic questions as in how a painting should be hung on a wall. Custom made terracotta bricks are extruded with horizontal slots to which metal clips can be installed to hang artworks. Paintings, installations, projectors, and even white walls could be hung onto this wall system. There is an overflow of white and concrete box museums. X Museum offers a newer way of installing and showing artworks.
The letter X is used as the main symbol of the museum at the entrance as an intersection of two H-beams supporting each other structurally. The crossed-braced structure holds the large curving roof that is perforated to filter patterns of light into the entrance space. The diagram of the X composed of two lines is signified as the most basic form of interaction. The museum also dedicates itself to being multidisciplinary show not only artists, but also architects, scientists, engineers, musicians, and designers.
The South Façade is covered with a matrix of 54 steel light boxes. These protruded rectilinear structures cast an array of shadows onto the grey stucco wall. The angle and the lengths of the shadows constantly change throughout the day according to the solar position. Downlights are also embedded into the box to light up the façade creating another kind of pattern during the nighttime. These structures can also be used to hang large posters or displays that may be required by the museum for different events.
X Museum is an art space that encourages innovation and stimulates unknown possibilities. The design of the museum is a statement showing how a contemporary museum could be re-imagined. It is a one-of-a-kind center for creatives of all disciplines based in the heart of Beijing.
