Creative Hunter ©: Unexpected Spatial Experiences

Hua Museum by URBANUS Architecture is located in Shenzhen, China. The architects explain: “The site has had a rather unremarkable history. Originally made for a laundry facility for Shenzhen Bay Hotel in the early 80’s, it is situated along the main road, between a Spanish-style OCT Hotel and the Hexiangning Gallery. Over many years, the warehouse itself remained unaltered while the city around it rapidly transformed.▪

Considering the significance of its location, the owner decides to remodel the warehouse in a meaningful way. For Urbanus, the remodelling of the site poses difficult questions of how to address the existing urban condition, and how new interventions would relate to it. The main architectural gesture is to wrap the entire warehouse with a hexagonal glass curtain wall. The pattern is created from 4 different sizes of hexagons. As a result, the new wall becomes a lively theatrical screen. The geometric pattern is more than just surface deep. It is actually a three-dimensional matrix of intersecting elements that project into the gallery spaces, structuring the building’s interior design. The result is the creation of delightful and unexpected spatial experiences.”