Jinqiao Art Center

Jinqiao Central Park is an anchor development in the rise of Jinqiao as a new epicenter of Shanghai. Six international architectural offices were invited to compete for its three key buildings, among them the Jinqiao Art Center. Responding to the civic character of the park and an open-ended program brief, the proposal parts ways with the collection-centered museum model, replacing it with a social condenser — a gathering place for the city that fuses cultural and community programs in a stack of spaces under an all-encompassing roof permeated with light, air, and nature.

Two independently operating circulation systems structure the building. The first traces around the outdoor platforms, directly accessible from the park landscape and open to the public around the clock; the second stems from the enclosed full-height atrium and links the ticketed interior programs. The gently fluctuating roof slopes down toward the park, a humble silhouette blending into the lush landscape while the platforms below lend the Art Center to the city as its living room and playground.