Fengying Stone Art Museum/GOA

Fengying Stone Art Museum/GOA

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Text description provided by the architects. Located in Chongwu, Fujian Province, Fengying · The Stone Art Museum exhibits the works of national master sculptor Wu Deqiang. It is also a renovation project of a sculpture factory. The architect integrated three courtyards with different layouts into the building, thus creating an autonomous universe without being isolated from the outside.

There were once several stone processing factories, a newly completed office building and three bungalows on the site. The bungalows were once the sculptor’s workshop, retaining many precious memories despite its ancient appearance. The nearby 10-meter-high sculpting workshop is said to be emitting dust while working. The slightly messy scene and the busy stone carvers jointly give a clue to the key to the design: How to create an undisturbed exhibition space in the current environment? How to make up the difference between the sentimental value carried by old buildings and the use value?

enclosure and space
Considering the limited budget of 600 thousand yuan to cover basic maintenance, engineering and installation of project works, the architect adopted an internalized strategy that values ​​elegance based on small size in order to eliminate adverse factors around the site. The finished showroom takes on a simple, complete square shape. Three spaces are carefully designed to allow a view from inside or outside, implicitly connecting the two spaces.

past and future
The architect kept three old workshops laden with memories and extended the new building on the south side of the old house. The inserted courtyard connects the two halves of the building which respectively represent the past and the future in a complete space. The continuous space under the eaves gradually leads visitors to the entrance to the sculpture hall. The bustling courtyard serves as a natural transition between different spaces and times that lessens the stark contrast between new and old buildings.

Nature and artifice
Considering that the works vary in size, the architect did not use conventional full artificial lighting, but proposed to introduce natural light into the hall for better ambience. Large sculptures are usually displayed outdoors, and natural light is more likely to create a real exhibition environment, and specially designed artificial projectors are more suitable for displaying miniature sculptures.

The exterior wall of the building is made of local stone, one of the most used cut stones. The vertical and linear arrangement of the stones forms an arc-shaped concave-convex gradient effect as if the surface of the rock surface is raised, which makes the surface of the wall look very lively.

Three gaps and three courses
Old and new buildings retain their own independent structures. The gap between the walls involves the D-shaped central courtyard, and plays a role of settlement joint and interior courtyard drain.

The U-shaped patio at the southwest corner creates a natural screen that extends inward. Curved glass diffuses daylight into the exhibition hall to create a transparent and luminous experience.

The circular courtyard at the southeast corner provides a full arched wall for the screening room. The curved opening brings in a subtle, soft light and creates a shift in light and shadow on the clean exterior wall.