He Art Museum | Tadao Ando Architect & Associates

This museum is located in the office and commercial district of a unique development area in Foshan City, China. The client is a part of a family that founded an international company based in Foshan. In response to a desire to contribute to the culture of his hometown, I designed a museum that houses his personal collection, which ranges from traditional to modern art.

The site is adjacent to an affiliate business headquarters owned by the client in the north and east as well as a public park to the south. Our proposed design effectively connects the surrounding facilities, reaching beyond the site's boundaries to enhance the urban environment.

The client named this project "He Art Museum" in reference to the Chinese characters of peace and harmony, which can be achieved by an effective combination of art and culture. In Chinese culture, particularly in the ancient Nanyue culture of the Lingnan region, the circle has been used in architecture and art as the yin yang symbol of harmony. With harmony as our architectural motif, we endeavored to create a new focal point of Nanyue culture, whose circular form would represent a geometry rooted in the region's vernacular.

We constructed the space to resemble a single ripple spreading through a great body of water. The core is positioned at the node of the metaphorical "dropped pebble," its energy reverberating to its surroundings as the diameter of its wave gradually and concurrently increases. In more concrete terms, the building is informed by four vertically stacked circular volumes and expanding in fixed increments. This three-dimensional arrangement of shifting circles gives each space a clear axiality and creates a varied and dynamic sequence. It also generates adequate shade outside the building, which is ideal for the Lignan region's subtropical climate.

The circular volume will comprise human-scale features such as a café, exhibition space for traditional art in Nanyue, and modern and contemporary art. To create a flexible space for exhibiting the client's modern art collection and a range of exhibits, we added a simple rectangular volume with high ceilings. The visual contrast between the "circle" and the "rectangle," as well as the spatial misalignment produced at their point of collision, gives this gallery a distinctive personality.

The circular layers are joined by a single five-story atrium enveloped by a double helix staircase. Forming the structural and conceptual center of the building composition, this bold vertical area links each floor visually, while its two-fold stairs allow for diverse circulation patterns.

I employed water as the landscaping motif to establish a space where people from the surrounding offices and commercial buildings could relax and reflect. The spanning water feature complements the circular structure, acting as a mirror to the sky and greenery and highlighting its distinct qualities.

I hope this gallery will become a new focal point for Nanyue culture and provide a symbolic place for people to gather in peace and harmony.