Like a natural jade, the Jiashan Museum reveals brilliance after being cut open. It’s also like a city that collects culture and treasure. This echoes the design theme “Book Repository and Treasure Kiln.”
Jiashan Museum is part of a cultural complex. This complex offers local citizens a public cultural activity venue. It greatly enhances the county’s cultural vitality.
The architects conceived architectural spaces within the plot. They took the open void in the middle as the core. Then, they combined three architectural volumes around it to enclose a square. This square is for the crowd. It’s also an outdoor extension of the foyers of the library and museum.
The square offers resting space for citizens. It connects the Jiashan Museum and the library. Moreover, it serves diversified public activities. These include outdoor exhibitions and pop-up book markets. This fully embodies the functions and image of an urban “knowledge hall and cultural living room.”
The Jiashan Museum is set at the southeast corner. It is near an intersection. It has a closed facade. This shows a clean neat and iconic image.
The library sits on the north side. It faces the river. It boasts ample daylighting on the north and sides. The Jiashan Museum isolates it from the noisy urban road.
The building volume at the southwest corner accommodates shared ancillary facilities. These facilities are for the Jiashan Museum and the library. They include a lecture hall and a casual dining area.
The design draws inspiration from the local cultural context. Jiashan is located in the north of Zhejiang Province. It adjoins Shanghai and Jiangsu. It features a dense water network. Its shipping industry is developed.
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, Jiashan was known as the “Country of a Thousand Kilns.” The kiln industry in the county back then was prosperous. Most of its bricks were produced for imperial palaces. The form of the square takes design cues from local brick kilns. It’s an abstract yet modern “brick kiln” space. It reflects a meaningful attempt to extend building boundaries.
Meanwhile, it blurs the boundary between interior and outside. It also blurs the boundary between openness and privacy.
The Jiashan Museum has a smooth and simple appearance. This is complemented by large areas of flat and light-hued stone curtain walls. It is characterized by texture contrast. Inner facades draw on the stacked structures of brick kilns. They form brick-red curved surfaces.
The strong contrast of external and inner facades implies an idea. It suggests that the unexpected and spectacular is hidden in a plain shell. The whole architecture is like a natural jade. It reveals brilliance after being cut open.
As night falls, the solid building exteriors form a strong contrast to the light inner square. This becomes a “kiln entrance.” It invites citizens to step in. The Jiashan Museum won the 2022 International Architecture Award. It’s a massive cultural center with a dynamic inner square. This square hosts a variety of activities.