Zhejiang Museum of Natural History Case Study

Posted: August 26th, 2021

Student’s Name

Instructor’s Name

Course

Date

Zhejiang Museum of Natural History Case Study

Covering an area of 55,000 square meters in Hangzhou, the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History was founded in 1929. The museum trails with a collection of more than 200,000 specimens concerning geology, ecology, and paleontology studies. The completion of this museum by Architect David Chipperfield complements the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang as a site of many central discoveries in the 21^st century. Following the establishment of a new 2^ndbranch of the museum in Anji, however, the northern region is now considered a cornerstone of the new socio-cultural district.

Figure 1. The rectangular shape-like structure

The building comprises of eight single-story pavilions that are partlyrooted in the sloping earth, hence stressing on the space and circulation of design type. Specifically, the central garden expansively encompasses large monolithic volumes that are positioned to create a grandiose public and exhibition spaces. Chipperfield designed the building to have a loose infrastructure full of plentiful circulation and spacious exhibition halls, which would attract large numbers of visitors. Notably, designer Chipperfield employed the hierarchy of space more than any other design element(s).The space category complements the design process as well as results of planning, designing, and constructing form and ambiance, as exhibited in figure 2. Indeed, such expansive space mirrorsthe technical, functional, and aesthetic considerations of the museum.

Figure 2. The expansive space in between the structures

The design of the building employs repetitive to unique design elements. Even though repetition can be annoying, it might sometimes be enjoyable based on how an architect uses it. The rectangular shapes are uniformly structured across the entire museum building to reduce costs. Therefore, bringing about uniformity, as shown in figures 2 and 3. The museum is constructed on a sloping site in an outsized natural park with bamboo forests to overlook the rice fields in the adjacent valley.

Figure 3. The back view of the building towards the lake

The structural composition of the eight single-story and bar-shaped pavilions stretches down along the hillside, creating unite to whole design form. The unite pattern attributes to the tangibility of the building to its entire, immediate surroundings, creating a reflection that follows the geography of the natural environment. The structure imitates the natural topography-giving rise to an open frame garden, thus minimizing the visual impact on the landscape. The building consists of a veranda that loops around this central garden, providing ample internal and external space areas.

Figure 4. The central garden of the building

Alongside the northernmost point, an entrance pavilionwelcomes visitors and offers better viewpoints over the central garden as well as the landscape beyond. With its location on either part of the garden, each exhibition hall provides a direct access point that follows stepped verandah sequentially. Notably, the southernmost pavilion, however, extends its viewpoint towards the lakeside at the lowest end of the site, as in figure 3.

Figure 5. The exhibition halls

The building design reflects the aesthetic values of the proximal community. The solid forms of the pavilions are well embedded within the dense landscaping of the central garden and the adjoining parkland. The plants extend onto the green roofs of the red ochre building complex, thereby, perfectly matching the clay earth of the hillside site. Thus, it highlights the proximal relationship between the museum and the landscape, as shown in figures 5 and 6.The social and community-oriented design applies a design methodology and intervention to tighten the social fabric that holds the Chinese together.

The aesthetic part of design helps in addressing social issues like inequality, poverty, and social isolation. Thus, universal design is the pathway towards the finding of a fair and sustainable culture. On the other hand, the use of community-intended design createsa human-centered as well asa participatory design practice, which stresses on the betterment of local communities. It is done through the enhancement of grandiosely open public facilities, design equipment, identity, and experiences of the cities.

Figure 6. An aerial view of the museum building

Regarding the design elements, the architect employed a mix of additive and subtractive forms in the building. In respect to the addictive way, Chipperfield constructed the building to appear organic and thus seem more diverse. As an example, the green rooftop, red ochre, and the pillar-like shaped structure make the building look more natural as it blends well with the surroundings,as shown in figures 1 and 6. Besides, the application of subtractive form in the design makes the building socially usable. The reason is that that the dominantly used shapes are uniformly harmonious and holistic, as shown in figure 2.

Additionally, symmetry and balance in architecture are better tools for measuring the geometry of the building. In the design of the Zhejiang museum of natural history, balance is utilized than symmetry, as shown in figures 2 and 3. Equally, the use of symmetrically shapedrectangular in the museum helps create stability and calmness in the design. Indeed, such aspects of geometry foster asymmetrical visual balance. Hence, this helps communicates the high levels of integrity, professionalism, and solidarity in architecture. In summary, the architectural scale of the museum building covers a location of 55,000 square meters on the ground, as shown in figure 7.

Figure 7. Scale map of the museum building