Ennead's Vision for the Wuxi Art Museum

Per a statement from Ennead Architects, "the architecture of the Wuxi Art Museum is conceived as a metaphorical Taihu Scholar Stone – a contemplative and intricate spatial structure that invites one’s spirit in, but also sits quietly as a meditative object amidst the broader natural context." Further inspired by the Chinese garden tradition, Ennead worked with West 8 to create "an integrated relationship between the surrounding landscape and architecture" in Shangxianhe Wetland Park, a 4km-long park in southeastern Wuxi that links Taihu Lake New Town on the north to Taihu Lake on the south.

The three-story museum in the northeast corner of the park was conceptualized as a mass carved to create voids that "define distinct outdoor realms, creating an intimate relationship, intertwining framed views of outdoor art exhibits set within composed natural scenes." A civic plaza (above) is found at the museum's main entrance, while the sizable central court (below), with lily ponds and crisscrossing footbridges, is seen as the main reference point for people inside the museum. Exterior materials are limestone and glass, the former perforated in parts to bring filtered light into the museum spaces. 

The idea of solid and void in the building massing extends to the landscape worked out with West 8, who "created a curated path that meanders through a series of gardens, courtyards, and plazas with open lawns and playscapes." A sequence of outdoor rooms, some of them beneath the cantilevered volumes of the museum, will be used for sculptures and other art installations, while an outdoor amphitheater is intended for visitors to take in art projections, movie screenings and performances.