Rizhao Bailuwan · Zaishui Art Museum

This 1-kilometre-long art museum is situated on an artificial lake at the entrance of a new development zone in Rizhao of Shandong Province in China. The linear structure stretches across the entire lake, seemingly to emerge from beneath its surface. The museum also integrates the water system into its interior, providing visitors with the experience of blending nature and art. In some areas, the glass panels below the waterline feature deliberate gaps, allowing water to flow indoors, accompanying the visitors as they walk through to view the exhibits over large areas of concrete ground.

TECHNICAL ESSENCE OF THE UNDULATING FORM
The gently curving building is primarily composed of steel reinforced concrete and glazing. The total floor area of the project is around 20,000 square metres, with 300 columns supporting an undulating concrete roof. All columns share a uniform cross-section dimension of 350 x 240 millimetres, while their heights differ in response to the undulating roof, ranging from 1.5 metres to 6 metres. Each internal steel column size is 250 x 140 millimetres, cladded with 50-millimetre-thick fair-faced concrete and reinforced by customised ultra-long fair-faced concrete formwork and column hoops.

The glass panels below the waterline have deliberate gaps to allow water inflow

The ceiling slabs and floors are thin double-curved fair-faced concrete structures in greyish-white colour without any bolt holes on the surface. Known for its smooth and aesthetically pleasing finish, fair-faced concrete is often used in buildings where the exposed concrete surface is intended to be a prominent feature.

The museum is primarily composed of steel reinforced concrete

LEVERAGING CONSTRUCTION EXPERTISE
To eliminate the risk of cracking in joints of the varying ceiling slabs due to excessive span distances, a total of 5,590 specially-shaped concrete formworks were made using a precise cutting machine, contributing to the museum’s stability and structural integrity. Additionally, the team solved the waterproofing problem related to the construction joints on the roof, ensuring that the fair-faced concrete remains impervious to water infiltration.

PROJECT DATA
Project Name
Rizhao Bailuwan · Zaishui Art Museum
Location
Rizhao, Shandong, China
Completion Date
October 2023
Gross Floor Area
20,000 square metres
Building Height
Ranging from 1.5 metres to 6 metres
Client
Shandong Bailuwan Co Ltd
Main Contractor
Beijing Yihuida Architectural Concrete Construction Engineering Co Ltd
Architecture Firm
junya.ishigami+associates
Principal Architect
Junya ishigami
Images
Beijing Yihuida Architectural Concrete Construction Engineering Co Ltd

This is an excerpt. The original article is published in
Construction+ Q2 2024 Issue: The Contractors: Integrating Expertise Across Construction.
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