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Once shaped by natural sand dunes, the coastal landscape of Bohai Bay in China has been dramatically altered by urbanization. Inspired by children digging in the sand, OPEN Architecture’s Dune Art Museum is nestled beneath the beach mounds, preserving the site’s natural landscape from being flattened. The building features a series of cell-like spaces for exhibition galleries and a café. Its complex geometry, created from hand-shaped concrete shells, forms cave-like interiors that are illuminated by skylights. The museum’s sand-covered roof blends seamlessly with the landscape and reduces summer heat, while a low-energy, zero-emission ground source pump system provides efficient heating and cooling.
2024
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Down to Earth
Gallery 216Today, new generations of architects worldwide are forging close relationships between built structures and the Earth’s surface. This approach sharply contrasts with that of their modernist predecessors from the early and mid-20th century, who intentionally raised living spaces from soil—then viewed as a source of humidity, insects, and disease.
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