Architect's dramatic design chosen for new contemporary art gallery in centre of Shenzhen

Austrian architect Coop Himmelb(l)au’s design has won the competition for the Museum of Contemporary Art & Planning Exhibition in Shenzhen, China.

Situated in the new city centre Futian, the building has been designed to be an urban meeting point.

With a site area of approximately 30,000 sq m, the building integrates itself in the language of the established Futian masterplan

The 40 m high building’s irregular form starts with the rectangular ground floor plan, but as the perimeter walls rise up, they are twisted sideways dramatically.

The act of twisting orientates the building to the cultural zone of Futian.

By using black anodised metal and black glass, the “active wave”, as it is referred to, is frozen into an urban monolith.

The building has been commissioned by the city’s municipal culture and planning bureaus.