New art era unfolds

Artistic impressions of the planned National Art Museum of China: the summer hall overhung with a gold ceiling.

According to the design sketches Nouvel released in September, the museum will be wrapped by a perforated facade to filter natural light into an internal garden. A gold ceiling offering a view of Chinese art and culture from the 15th century will crown the summer hall, and plans also call for a sprawling open-air roof terrace that blurs the boundary between the sky and the roof.

However, there is more to think about than the appearance of an art museum, such as its function and who it will serve, points out Tang Keyang, director of the research center for art and architecture at NAMOC.

Fan Di'an, who was the museum's director until September, says that the new NAMOC will make more efforts to serve the public.

Tang notes that China's museums face particular challenges. For instance, there is free admission, and the large number of visitors pouring into museums every day forces designers to consider exhibition spaces differently. The country's museums also provide Western-style food for visitors as well as Chinese restaurants offering shredded pork with garlic sauce and other local favorites.

"People will likely pay the most attention to how the vast art museum will look," says Tang. "But we should let them see more than the appearance."