The Zaishui Art Museum building was designed by Japanese architect Junya Ishigami in northeast China. The structure, consisting of two steel-reinforced concrete wings, rises from the surface of the artificial lake: 300 columns installed at the bottom support the 1-kilometer-long museum bridge.
The linear shape emphasizes the contrast between the surface of the lake and the mountain range behind. The height of the building ranges from 1.22 to 4.95 meters in height and from 4.8 to 20 meters in width. “In some places the soft curve of the roof almost touches the water,” explains Ishigami, “and in others it turns towards the sky, opening up to the mountain landscape.”
The building area is 20,000 sq. m. meters. It is accompanied along its entire length by a raised concrete walkway that resembles the surf line on a beach. The finishing is dominated by textured local sandstone. “The concept of this space is based on creating a new landscape indoors,” says Ishigami.
The atmosphere of lightness and openness to nature is emphasized by floor-to-ceiling glazing, which also provides natural ventilation in the warmer months. To explore how the site would "relate" to water, the architects conducted research on Venetian canal buildings and historic water cities in China, such as Wuzhen, a 1,300-year-old water village located on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, where waterways act as streets and banks rivers as markets.
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