BIG's garden-inspired suzhou museum of contemporary art celebrates top out

topping out of Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art

Danish group BIG celebrates the topping out of the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art, which is scheduled for completion in 2025. Designed alongside ARTS Group and Front Inc., the museum is part of the development of the Jinji Lake and reimagines the traditional garden ‘lang,’ 廊 – a line that traces a path – framing gardens with outdoor art installations and coalescing into 12 pavilions. Ultimately, the 60,000 sqm design offers a modern interpretation of the elements that have defined the city‘s urbanism, architecture, and landscape for centuries, taking visitors on a journey through art, nature, and water.

‘The Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art is a tribute to the rich garden heritage of Suzhou. We envision the ‘廊,’ a traditional element of Suzhou gardens, gracefully winding through the landscapes and transforming into pavilions. In doing so, it frames the contemporary gardens, making them an integral part of the exhibition, as significant as the artwork within,’ says Catherine Huang, Partner in Charge at BIG. 

image © Justin Szeremeta

big creates ‘a manmade maze of plants and artworks’

As a main design element for the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art, the team at BIG reveals a kind on ribbon of the roof, which extends into a pattern of eaves that double as sheltered walkways through the site. Knots in the thread of walkways frame pavilions, connected by glazed galleries and porticoes, forming a network of interconnected sculpture courtyards and exhibition spaces. The draped walkways extend into Jinji Lake, which can be regarded from above while on the Suzhou Ferris wheel, where the museum weaves between its legs, branching out like a rhizome to link the city with the lake. As a result, the architecture entwines through the landscape, tying water to land, city to nature, and people to history. The paths leading through the site will be covered with natural stone.

image © Justin Szeremeta

Defined by sloping roof eaves, each pavilion facade is made of rippled and curved glass and warm-toned stainless steel that reflects the garden colors. The pavilions are connected above and underground via bridges and tunnels, allowing the museum to plan exhibition flow according to seasons and exhibited art pieces.  Four of the museum’s pavilions comprise the main gallery experience of the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art, and the five remaining pavilions feature a multifunction hall for events and lectures, a theater, a restaurant, and a grand entrance. ‘The result is a manmade maze of plants and artworks to get lost within. Its nodular logic only becomes distinctly discernible when viewed from the gondolas above. Against the open space of the lake, the gentle catenary curvature of the roofs forms a graceful silhouette on the waterfront. Viewed from above, the stainless roof tiles form a true fifth facade,’ shares Bjarke Ingels.

image © Justin Szeremeta

Arriving at the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art, the visitor will be faced by an expansive, welcoming plaza in front of the Visitor Center, which doubles as the entry point to the building. From there, visitors can proceed with their explorations inside or along the exterior, through the gardens, and to the water bank. Visitors can follow a continuous path through the interior or follow one of those it feeds into, allowing one to wander depending on the aim or weather conditions of the visit. A home of all cultures, the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art will also house a theater in one of its pavilions. 

image © Justin Szeremeta

The museum’s landscaping acts as a public space to the front of Jinji Lake through a series of interconnected gardens, ensuring a rich public realm surrounding the museum. Sculptures by contemporary artists will offer Suzhou’s citizens a cultural experience outside the museum’s opening hours. The individual gardens will gradually change from mineral to green to finally water-themed planting as the visitors move towards the waterfront. Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art follows the Chinese sustainability certification, GBEL Green Star 2, including both technical and social approaches to sustainability.

image © Justin Szeremeta

renderings by ATCHAIN, BIG, Bucharest Studio

rendering by ATCHAIN, BIG, Bucharest Studio

project info:

name: Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art

architecture: Bjarke Ingels Group / BIG | @big_builds

location: Suzhou, Jiangsu, China

collaborators: ARTS Group Co., Ltd., Front Inc., Shanghai Shuishi Landscape Design Co.,Ltd, 

Rdesign International Lighting

client: Suzhou Harmony Development Group Co. Ltd,
Publicity and United Front Work Department of Suzhou Industrial Park 

owner: Suzhou Industrial Park Cultural and Sports Tourism Bureau

partners-in-charge: Bjarke Ingels, Catherine Huang
project manager: Molly Hsiao Rou Huang 
project architect: Tyrone Cobcroft, Kekoa Charlot, Tseng-Hsuan Wei

design lead: Matteo Pavanello, Christian Vang Madsen, Athena Morella 

team: Chih-Han Chen, Tomasz Jakubowski, Aileen Koh, Amanda Lima Soares Da Cuncha, Arda Özker Cincin, Cris Guoyu Liu, Desislava Georgieva, Eddie Can, Federico Martínez De Sola Monereo, Filip Fot, Filippo Cartapani, Finn Nørkjær, Haochen Yu, Huiyao Fu, Izabella Banas, Jakub Kulisa, Jan Magasanik, Jana Semaan, Jason Cheuk Hei Lee, Jiaqi Yang, Jiawen Huang, Julia Wilkosz, Jurica Pajic, Mathis Paul Gebauer, Megan Nhat Xuan Dang, Narisara Ladawal Schröder, Ole Elkjær-Larsen, Oliver Steen, Paula Domka, Pei Huang, Philip Kaefer, Pheobe Cowen, Riad Tabbara, Romain Thijsen, Shu Du, Sol Anaid Chaocon Levin, Tarek Shater, Todor Todorov Rusev, Xavier Thanki, Yanis Amasri Sierra, Yihan Liu, Yingying Guan, Zahra Khademi, Zhonghan Huang, Zuzana Faskova 

BIG engineering: Andrea Hektor, Adele Scampoli, Alexander Gale Heiede, Andreas Bak, Bjarke Koch-Ørvad, Cristina Minguela, Ingrid Albina Oliva Lampa, Janis Bronka, Jens Max Jensen, Jesús Fernández Lindqvist, Jonathan Russell, Kannan Selvaraj, Konstantinos Koutsoupakis, Maria Capuozzo, Miles Treacy, Thomas Lejeune, Tim Christensen

photographer: Justin Szeremeta | @studiosz_photo

visualization: ATCHAIN, BIG, Bucharest Studio

total area: 60,000 sqm

expected completion: 2025