MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART & PLANNING EXHIBITION.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION JOINT 1ST PRIZE.

MoCAPE is a leading international art institution set in Shenzhen China. The proposal is for two separate but connected cultural facilities with 30,000 sqm of dedicated exhibition space and an overall floor area of 80,000 sqm. The site is the final plot to be completed within the civic masterplan for Shenzhen, a recently developed area which features a new Library and Concert Hall by Arata Isozaki.



The competition win saw us finish in the final four and invited to develop a second round proposal which was produced in collaboration with Arups. The jury was chaired by Arata Isozaki and an eminent panel of Chinese Architects. The competition attracted 170 entries from around the world including six invited leading international practices. The second round was won by Coop Himmelb(l)au Architects of Austria.




Strategically the role of the modern museum extends beyond the exhibition hall into the public sphere. It is a public urban space, a cultural hub and an icon for the city. The design strategy for MoCAPE was to lift and sink the massing of the museum creating two elements; a sculptural plinth and a lifted pavilion, producing strong urban connections and prioritising public movement across the site’s undulating landscape.







A series of peaks give form to the striated terrain of the plinth, framing human scale spaces while supporting the pavilion. The elevated pavilion creates strong urban connections across the site. It’s geometrically patterned mesh plates interlock to produce variations in density, controlling light and views into and out of the volume.