The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), China’s leading independent institution of contemporary art, has formally announced its operation of the Dune Art Museum, now known as the UCCA Dune. Located in Qinhuangdao, the UCCA Dune will be the UCCA’s first museum branch outside of Beijing.

The 930 square meter museum is largely covered by the sand dunes surrounding it, allowing it to seamlessly blend into the beauty of its natural environment. The museum’s design has been internationally lauded, and was recently designated “Best of Best” by the German Iconic Awards.

UCCA’s operation of the museum was announced at a press conference held in Beijing on September 1, 2018. In attendance were Li Hu and Huang Wenjing, OPEN’s founding partners and the principals-in-charge of the UCCA Dune.

OPEN’s Dune Art Museum has topped out recently. When workers removed the building's complicated form work and other protective measures, organically shaped concrete shells were exposed, revealing the sophisticated and powerful structure of this new museum in Qinhuangdao. It was a moment of pure excitement, but also a state of transience – as construction progresses, the structure will eventually be covered with sand and the dunes’ original state restored, including the indigenous shrubs that stabilize the sands. Except for skylights, openings, and a viewing platform that appears to be floating above the dunes, the building will quietly disappear, like a group of mysterious caves hidden beneath the sand.

On April 4th, OPEN breaks ground on its new Chapel of Sound project--a semi-outdoor concert hall located in a valley north of Beijing, famous for hosting remnants of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. The building looks as though a giant rock miraculously landed in the valley in prehistoric times and somehow came to be inhabited by humans.

Recently, Shanghai organized an international competition for the new Art Museum of Pudong. The site of the project is located at a prominent spot on the tip of Pudong’s Lujiazui CBD area directly below the Oriental Pearl Tower. Looking across Huangpu River from the Bund, the iconic skyline of Lujiazui has been such a symbolic image of modern Shanghai that any addition or alteration to this image is extremely sensitive. So the site has been deliberately left vacant for years, awaiting a significant cultural institute and meaningful contribution to the urban life at the megapolis. 

The competition consisted of two rounds, OPEN along with SANAA, Jean Nouvel and David Chipperfield progressed to the second round. 

OPEN Wishes You a Happy New Year!

OPEN has moved to the new office located in No. 46 Fangjia Hutong recently. 

Gehua Youth and Cultural Center starts construction at Beidaihe

Beijing No. 4 Middle School Fangshan Campus starts the construction.

OPEN wins the Competition for Deep Sea Research Centre of Tsinghua University Shenzhen Graduate School Innovation Base.