Hohhot Sculpture Gallery

The project site is situated within a linear park in the northern urban area of Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The site includes an abandoned sunken area approximately 6 meters deep. The plan is to construct an art museum themed around sculpture art at the site. This architectural gem is envisioned as a versatile public destination integrating exhibitions, leisure activities, dining, and shopping experiences. This initiative seeks to promote the dissemination of sculpture culture, attract visits from the general public, and enhance the overall environmental quality and urban vitality of the area.

The project construction should focus on sustainability from a full lifecycle perspective, minimizing environmental damage and energy consumption during both the construction and operation. As a public building within a park environment, the project should emphasize urban integration and public accessibility, avoiding an overly cold or closed-off appearance. Additionally, economic feasibility must be considered, with the total construction cost not exceeding $4 million. Through the design of a landscape architecture, the project engages in a dialogue with the city, and features a meandering spatial experience, thereby creating an all-age-friendly public space in a densely populated urban area. It demonstrates sustainability tailored to local conditions across various dimensions including environment, energy, and space use. （1）By concealing the building volume within the site, the museum maximizes protection and restoration of urban green space, harmonizing with the linear park to enhance the continuous urban ecological corridor and realizing environmental sustainability. （2）Inserting the building volume into the site effectively reduces its shape coefficient, and increases the thermal inertia of the space, thus reducing energy loss. Furthermore, by integrating multiple courtyard spaces with outdoor exhibition areas, natural ventilation and daylighting are enhanced, supplemented by skylights to reduce lighting energy consumption, thus achieving energy sustainability. （3）The three-dimensional circulation routes, featuring a 6-meter elevation difference across the site, are seamlessly connected by ramps. These ramps, along with the inclusion of rich and sheltered space nodes, underscore the care for disadvantaged groups, thereby achieving social sustainability. （4）The project utilizes an existing large pit to completely bury the building, saving on earthwork and construction materials, and reducing energy exchange with the external environment. Furthermore, the inclusion of multiple courtyards and skylights enhance natural ventilation and daylighting, thus reducing reliance on artificial energy. Moreover, the simplicity of the construction process, which requires no specialized machinery, significantly contributed to lowering overall construction costs, thus achieving economic sustainability.