Art, and the benefits it brings to people, is immeasurable. All manner of artistic endeavours create connection and community, celebrate culture, stimulates and inspires the imagination and, to put it simply, is a joyful part of every life. Whether visiting a gallery, spending time in a curated public space or just encountering beauty in our day to day lives, what makes everything a little more special is the inclusion of art.

So, the idea of a new purpose-built art gallery that is, itself, a work of art is exciting, to say the least. With the design of Simple Art Museum, Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee have conceived a seemingly effortless building that is as artistic as the works it houses.

As a gallery and cultural space, Simple Art Museum is a contemporary art museum that combines ideas from the past and re-imagines them for the future. Situated in Anhui, China, near the Nanfei River, the concept of the design draws inspiration from the rippling waters that have shaped the region for millennia. There is a certain fluidity in the design with curved walls and a wave-like roof that mirrors the river’s natural rhythm as the man-made seeks to emulate nature.

While the curves and flow of the design was inspired by water, the undulating roof and gables, columns and gardens reflect the Hui-style architecture of the region through new eyes.

The building itself sits lightly on the site, white and monumental with a certain gravitas. There is an expansive grey space on the ground floor, that supports the community and becomes a gathering place for all. Above, the museum’s jagged roof echoes the exhibition spaces below, supported by curved walls that create a winding path reminiscent of Chinese gardens. Here light and shadow come together and become a backdrop to the art and activities and create another world within.

The upper level is a hub of open offices that also continues the narrative of the ground floor’s exhibition space. Undulating walls dissolve the rigid boundaries of traditional workspaces and helps foster creativity and collaboration. In this way, the museum transcends its role as a container for art, becoming an incubator for ideas.

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The building is home to myriad activities and multiple facilities with an event plaza, foyer, information centre, shop and café, open workshop, galleries, video media exhibition space and storage areas on the ground floor. Above on the first floor there are offices and meeting rooms and a kitchen, with an outside seasonal rooftop garden that adjoins this space.

Hung and Songkittipakdee have once again used the natural world to inform their architectural design. It is a theme that is a constant in their work and ensures that the forms they conceive have an affinity with people. Referencing the built history of the city has also imbued a distinct connection with the new to the old. As an art and community space, the Simple Art Museum is anything but simple, although the clean pure lines of the building belie the complexity of the architectural vision.

When a gallery and museum is as inspirational to visit as the collections within, then the architect has surpassed the brief and contributed to the experiential – this HAS design and research has achieved.

With offices in Bangkok, Thailand and Shanghai, China, HAS design and research is leaving its mark on both countries and also delivering outstanding design to a global audience. The two principals, Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee, are carving out a special place in the world of architecture and design through their work but also give back, lecturing students at universities in both countries. They are much in demand as curators and have five books to their credit. As architects, Hung and Songkittipakdee are passionate about their craft and it shows.

In Simple Art Museum, innovation and creativity are brought together to become the vision of the architects. This building is yet another outstanding project from HAS design and research and is, as expected from this architectural practice, something quite extraordinary.

HAS design and research was the winner of The Retail Space at the 2023 INDE.Awards with Casa de Zanotta.

Photography
W Workspace, Fangfang Tian

HAS design and research
hasdesignandresearch.com

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