{"id":11004,"date":"2025-12-22T13:47:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T13:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rutha.org\/index.php\/2025\/12\/22\/zao-standardarchitecture-snakes-concrete-art-gallery-around-courtyard-in-china\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T13:47:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T13:47:57","slug":"zao-standardarchitecture-snakes-concrete-art-gallery-around-courtyard-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rutha.org\/index.php\/2025\/12\/22\/zao-standardarchitecture-snakes-concrete-art-gallery-around-courtyard-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"ZAO\/standardarchitecture snakes concrete art gallery around courtyard in China"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Xiao<\/div>\n

Chinese studio ZAO\/standardarchitecture<\/a> has created the Xiao Feng Art Museum in Hangzhou<\/a>, housing galleries within an angular concrete<\/a> form that loops around a central courtyard<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Located at the foot of Daci Mountain, the 1,298-square-metre museum is dedicated to the artist couple Xiao Feng and Song Ren, who passed away in 2023.<\/p>\n

\"Concrete
ZAO\/standardarchitecture has completed Xiao Feng Art Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the irregular courtyard layout of the museum, ZAO\/standardarchitecture<\/a> drew on the historic typology of Chinese Scholar’s Gardens \u2013 gardens that were popular during the Ming Dynasty and used to showcase their owners’ knowledge of the arts.<\/p>\n

Xiao Feng Art Museum loops around this central courtyard, forming a continuous space that narrows and widens and rises and falls, creating what the studio described as a “multifaceted spatial experience”.<\/p>\n

\"Xiao
It is located at the foot of Daci Mountain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Visitors reach the entrance situated in the interior courtyard by walking under a building bridge,” said the studio.<\/p>\n

“In the building, a tour of the exhibition follows the circular form of the building, which becomes quite narrow at some points and expands to larger volumes at others so as to open up the exterior space,” it added.<\/p>\n

“Ramps provide access to the different levels, which facilitate a multifaceted spatial experience in the parts of the building with various heights.”<\/p>\n

\"Art
Xiao Feng Art Museum loops around a courtyard. Photo by Arch Nango<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Exposed concrete darkened with a black pigment defines both the exterior and interiors of Xiao Feng Art Museum, emphasising its angular geometry.<\/p>\n

The outer walls of the museum have been left almost entirely blank, while small skylights protrude from the roof and small, deep square openings puncture the courtyard-facing walls.<\/p>\n