Appraisal Conference of Reconstruction Design Held at Hunan Provincial Museum

The Appraisal Conference of the International Short-listed Competition for Conceptual Design for the Reconstruction and Expansion Project of Hunan Provincial Museum, organized by Hunan Provincial Department of Culture, Hunan Provincial Cultural Relics Department and Hunan Provincial Museum and supervised by Hunan Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, was held in Changsha, Hunan last week.

On-site survey by jury members at Hunan Provincial Museum

Under the guidance of “sparing no effort to build the museum up to a first-class museum in China”, scientificalness and fairness, on the basis of the nomination of the Hunan Provincial Museum Reconstruction and Expansion Project leadership group and the recommendation of experts, and with the approval of Hunan Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-rural Development, a panel of world-reknown judges is formed for the Hunan Provincial Museum Reconstruction and Expansion Project Conceptual Designs appraisal, which is comprised of one chairman, Hans Hollein, and other eight members, with the chairman and the other eight judges having equal voting rights.

Appraisal Conference site: presentation and defense

The panel is mainly made up of Chinese and overseas professionals with outstanding achievements and a high reputation in the fields of architectural engineering and museum, with architectural engineering professionals making up no less than two thirds and museum professionals no less than one fifth.

Interview: He Jingtang, Jury member, 81 years old, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering

News Conference and Signing Ceremony of International Short-listed Competition for Conceptual Design for Reconstruction and Expansion of Hunan Provincial Museum was held in Sheraton Changsha Hotel, Changsha in the last December, with world famous architects from six architectural and design firms, namely, Germany GMP Architects, Italian n!studio, French AS. Architecture-Studio, Arata Isozaki & Associates, VBN Corporation & ARUP and Hunan Provincial Architectural Design Institute inviting and participating in the competition. After three months’ elaborate design, all contestants have submitted their works on schedule.

Hans Hollein (Chairman), 77 years old, architectural designer, professor and winner of the 1985 Pritzker Architecture Prize

After two days of the appraisal meeting, the appraisal panel, after reviewing and analyzing the bidding documents and presentation of the six contestants, made a comprehensive appraisal and selected out three winning designs and three qualified designs. Among which, the three winning designs will be announced to the public at the museum and on the appointed media, through which people can vote for the “New Hunan Provincial Museum in My Heart” since March 20. Then, the appraisal results of jury and votes of the public will be examined and verified by the relevant departments. At last, the final design will be publicized. 

Chairman Hans Hollein is raising a question.

Founded in 1951 and officially opened to the pubic in 1956, Hunan Provincial Museum boasts a collection of over 180,000 pieces that feature the cultural relics excavated from the world-famous Mawangdui Tombs of Han Dynasty, the bronze wares of the Shang and the Zhou Dynasties, cultural relics of Chu Dynasty, pottery and porcelain works from various dynasties, calligraphy works and paintings, and modern cultural relics, thereby being listed as one of the first-class museum in China as well as one of the first eight National Foremost Museums eligible to be co-constructed by central and local governments.

By the time when this “Reconstruction and Expansion Project” is completed, the total building area of Hunan Provincial Museum will reach 78,000 m², with substantial improvement in the facilities and conditions for cultural relics preservation, exhibition, audience education service. The total number of visitors received by Hunan Provincial Museum will experience a considerable increase, from the exiting 1.4 million to 2.5~3 million every year.

It is predicted that this project will be completed in the year of 2013, with a total investment of RMB 850,000,000 yuan.

Chen Jianming, director and Li Jianmao, vice director of Hunan Provincial Museum are listening to the presentation at the meeting.

The objectives of this project is to build Hunan Provincial Museum as one of the key centers for conservation of cultural relics and an open window through which people can learn about the history and culture of Hunan. Meeting the requirements of “energy-saving and environment-friendly”, Hunan Provincial Museum will be transformed into a public cultural service centre at the downtown of Changsha, and a new cultural landmark in Changsha.

In a word, with the spirit of Hunan province and seeking the wisdom from all over the world, we are striving to build a national key museum which would reach the international advanced level.

Profiles of the Panel Members

1.Hans Hollein (Chairman), Austrian, architectural designer, professor and winner of the 1985 Pritzker Architecture Prize.

2.Steven Holl, American, architectural designer, head of the Steven Holl Office and lifetime professor of the College of Architecture of Columbia University in America.

3.Boris Micka, Czech, architectural designer, design director of museum department of General de Producciones y Diseño, S.A.

4.Li Daozeng, Chinese, planning and design expert, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

5.He Jingtang, Chinese, architectural designer, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, dean of the School of Architecture of South China University of Technology.

6.Jiang Huancheng, Chinese, structural engineer, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, long-standing chief engineer of Shanghai Xiandai Architectural Design Group Limited Company.

7.Wei Chunyu, Chinese, architectural designer, dean of School of Architecture of Hunan University.

8.Miwa Karoku, Japanese, museum expert, general director of Japan’s Kyushu National Museum.

9.Chen Jianming, Chinese, museum expert, vice-chairman of ICOM China Branch, deputy chairman of China Museum Association, and general director of Hunan Provincial Museum.

Introduction of Contestants

1.Germany’s GMP Architects

Germany’s GMP Architects is an architectural firm that enjoys a high reputation not only in Europe but also in the whole world. Its founder, world-renowned architect Meinhard von Gerkan, was born in 1935. Its main designs include Germany’s Berlin Central Railway Station, the reconstruction and expansion project of China’s National Museum, Chongqing Theatre, China Maritime Museum.

Chief Designer: Meinhard von Gerkan

2.The Design Consortium of Japan’s Arata Osozaki Architectural Firm and China’s Central Academy of Fine Arts

Arata Osozaki, the founder of the firm and born in 1931, is a world-renowned architectural designer whose main works include the Oita National Library in Kyushu of Japan, Louisiana Modern Art Museum of the United State, Barcelona Stadium of Spain, Fuji Museum of Japan, Art Gallery of Central Academy of Fine Arts of China.

Chief Designer: Arata Isozaki

3.France’s AS Architecture-studio

Martin Robain, the founder of the company and born in 1943, is a celebrated architectural designer in Europe, whose main works include the Arab World Research Center in Paris of France, the EU Parliament House in Strasbourg of France, the Reconstruction Project of the National Radio Building in Paris of France, the Beirut Theater of Lebanon, the Natural Science Museum in Tibet of China.

Chief Designer: Mali Yanos

4.Italy’s n!studio Architecture Firm

Antonello Stella, born in 1961 and founder of the company, is a famous architectural designer in Europe, whose main works include: the San Vincenzo Archaeology Museum, the Nazzano River Museum, the Casa Artusi Museum, the Breteuil Gallic-Roman Museum, and the Datangxi City Museum of Xi’an in China.

Chief Designer: Antonello Stella

5.The Design Consortium of America’s VBN Corporation & ARUP

America’s VBN Corporation was founded in 1958, with its headquarters located in the center of Oakland, California, America. The VBN Corporation has a very solid professional background and has accumulated rich experience in city planning, architectural design, landscape design and road projects. Its main works include the Martin Luther King Square, the Clayton Civic Center, San Francisco’s Milano Theater, Beijing Children’s Museum, and Guizhou Provincial Museum.
ARUP, founded in Britain in 1946, is one of the largest and most successful engineering consultant companies in the world. Among the projects that it participated in are Shanghai Pudong New International Airport construction design, the new site of CCTV, the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games main stadium (the Bird Nest), the National Aquatics Center (Water Cube), Guangdong Provincial Museum and Guangzhou Observation Tower.

Chief Designer: Wang Ke

6.Hunan Provincial Architectural Design Institute

Hunan Provincial Architectural Design Institute was established in 1952, with class-A survey and design qualification. It currently has 22 class-A registered architects and 26 class-A registered structural engineers. Its chief designer, Yang Ying, was born in 1964 and is a distinguished architectural designer in China. Its main works include the present exhibition hall of Hunan Provincial Museum, the renovation and expansion project of Comrade Mao Zedong Memorial Hall in Shaoshan, Wuzhou Municipal Museum, Hunan Art Center for the Great Mass, the expansion project of Changsha Huanghua Airport, and Changsha Riverside Cultural Park.

Chief Designer: Yang Ying

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World-renowned Architects Invited to Changsha for “Reconstruction and Expansion Project” of Hunan Provincial Museum