Art house: new cultural venues

As with so many other things, cultural venues like art galleries and museums, fall into a category of places that were likely taken somewhat for granted pre-Corona. As they begin to open their doors again, albeit for now, in a more restricted way, we also start to reconnect and interact with these spaces with a fresh look and a renewed appreciation of their vital role in society. And while our access to these venues has been limited, thankfully new venues continue to be built, as architects respond to our cultural and social needs in increasingly innovative ways.

Take the newly opened Jishou Art Museum, located in the capital of the central Chinese region Xiangxi, designed by Beijing-based Atelier FCJZ. Instead of building the museum on the outskirts of the city as was previously envisioned, the architects have designed a building as a bridge across the Wanrong River that flows through Jishou's historic centre. Improving accessibility to both culture and the city's core, the new edifice combines the traditional form of the region's covered bridges, known as Fengyu Qiao, and materials such as dark stone and ceramic tiles, creating a seamless fit within its context.

In the southern German town of Künzelsau, David Chipperfield Architects have completed the second phase of the Carmen Würth Forum, a mixed-use conference space and arts centre which consists of a cluster of low pavilions clad in pale stone. Inside, culture intermingles with commerce – the Würth art collection is displayed alongside spaces for chamber music performances and conferences organised by the Adolf Würth Company. The building's pared-down interior combines polished concrete floors, top-lit galleries and large areas of glazing that look out onto the rolling German countryside.

Conversely, the Museum of Contemporary Art Helga de Alvear by Emilio Tuñón Arquitectos is located in a dense urban setting in the western Spanish city of Cáceres. A white concrete pavilion comprising stacked rectangular volumes straddles the city's medieval, stone ramparts, while connecting through to an existing palazzo on the other side. Here, a space for culture is once again situated alongside a centrally located urban shortcut, attracting visitors and enticing passers-by.

In Accra, Ghana, Vienna-based nav_s baerbel mueller and Juergen Strohmayer have completed Nubuke Extended, a new addition to the Nubuke Foundation's culture and arts centre. Set within a large tropical garden, the new exhibition space is raised on columns to create an additional, shaded performance space. The kinked rectangular volume of the new building is made entirely out of exposed, in-situ concrete, forming a backdrop to the colourful and bold art within and without.

© Architonic