The Art and City Museum in Ordos by MAD
11.09.29
MAD, the Beijing based architect office whom we introduced in AXIS vol.150, completed the Art and City Museum in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. Inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s “Manhattan Dome”, MAD conceived of a futuristic shell to protect the cultural history of the region and refute the rational new city outside. Encapsulated by a sinuous façade, the museum sits upon sloping hills – a gesture to the recent desert past and now a favorite gathering place for local children and families.
Photo by Iwan Baan
Upon entering the atrium, a brighter, more complex world unfolds. A canyon-like corridor connects the east and west entrances, allowing the space to become an open extension of the outer urban space. Visitors meander through the space as if in the future – yet eternal– Gobi desert.
Photo by ShuHe
The completion of the museum offers a moment of pause in a city which has seen no end to construction. In this vital space where the past and the contemporary are joined, people can meet with art and with each other, giving new spirit to this young community.
