Photography courtesy of Jenchieh Hung + Kulthida Songkittipakdee/Has Design and Research.
In the 1950’s, a Chinese party slogan proclaimed, “Every county must have its museum, and every commune its exhibition hall.” Today, the country is experiencing an explosion of museums, many of which are free, with the aim of adopting a more modern cultural heritage, including in the central-eastern city of Hefei. It’s there that Bangkok-based Jenchieh Hung + Kulthida Songkittipakdee/HAS Design and Research has completed the Simple Art Museum, a 12,380-square-foot institution, its bold architecture syncing with what’s on show: contemporary pieces from emerging artists working in various disciplines, from painting to video.
A sweeping zigzag canopy in micro-cement shelters the entry, then continues as the interior’s ceiling, capping the galleries, workshops, and café while concealing lighting and ductwork—a gesture that’s both functional and sculptural. “It not only reflects the essence of Hui-style architecture but also symbolizes the flowing movement of Hefei’s mother river, the Nanfei,” Hung explains. Songkittipakdee adds, “It opens outward to embrace the public.” At sunset, 40-foot-long LED strips contribute to light refracting across the ceiling’s textures, creating a ripplelike shimmer that blurs inside and out.
The ceiling plays a role in a current installation, too. “Formatted Gaze” by Xinjia Yang is composed of two parts: nearly a dozen smartphones suspended from above displaying human eyes, and his collage of posters of street-view maps hung on a neighboring wall. The ability to accommodate digital and analog, past and present architectural and societal traditions suggests that the Simple Art Museum is a work of art in its own right.
Tour The Simple Art Museum By HAS Design and Research
Photography by Fangfang Tian.
Photography courtesy of Jenchieh Hung + Kulthida Songkittipakdee/Has Design and Research.