A museum located by the bank of the Yangtze River. The project has a number of architecturally complex features that complement the historic atmosphere of the surrounding old town. To achieve the effect of a transparent building, the perimeter columns were required to be extremely slim in profile, whilst supporting a complex curved roof above, creating an intricate relationship between all the structural members.
This project is a good example of the integration of structural and architectural design. The building achieves a coherent form with slender steel columns supporting a complex roof geometry that reflects historic architecture of the area.
The hyperbolic paraboloid roof allows the use of straight lines to achieve a curved surface, and the design team made use of digital tools to both assist in form finding and in fabrication of the steel structural components.
The judges were impressed with the way this project celebrates interdisciplinary design, supported by appropriate use of digital tools.