Islamic influences inspire exhibition centre in China
Transcript of Islamic influences inspire exhibition centre in China
7/29/2014 Islamic influences inspire exhibition centre in China | Architecture | Agenda | Phaidon
http://de.phaidon.com/agenda/architecture/articles/2013/february/01/islamic-influences-inspire-exhibition-centre-in-northern-china/ 1/3
Architecture Articles Islamic influences inspire exhibition centre in China
Islamic influences inspire exhibition centre in ChinaSure Architects uses West Xia Helan stone and traditional Chinese techniques to create Islamic patterning
Ningxia Exhibition Centre - Sure Architecture
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When it comes to local architectural styles, the designers of the
Ningxia Exhibition Centre had plenty to draw on. The museum is
planned for Yinchuan, the 2m-strong capital of Ningxia in the far north-
west of China. In fact it’s so far north that it rubs up against Inner
Mongolia.
Ningxia – sparsely-populated and mostly desert - is an autonomous
region for the Chinese-speaking Hui people, China’s Muslim minority of
which there are just shy of 10m across the republic. It was from this
group’s heritage that the centre’s architects, Sure, drew its inspiration.
“We broke through conventional museum design, taking into
consideration the history and the culture of this city,” says Sure, which
stands for Sustainable Urban Regeneration and Eco-Architecture.
The practice, which was set up in London in 2006, explains its design
thinking. “Our first idea was to use West Xia Helan stone, and using
some traditional Chinese techniques we started to work with the stone
to create the Islamic pattern. The history of Yinchuan, the tradition of
the Chinese Art Stone and the Muslim culture were fused in the design
of the Yinchuan Exhibition Centre. It will become a landmark and will be
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7/29/2014 Islamic influences inspire exhibition centre in China | Architecture | Agenda | Phaidon
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the starting point of the China and Arab Axis; furthermore, Yinchuan is
the historical mission of China's bridge to the Arab world.”
Ningxia Exhibition Centre - Sure Architecture
However, while the Hui are the predominant ethnic group in Yinchuan,
accounting for more than a quarter of the population, Sure could have
chosen from a number of other cultural influences, including Han,
Manchu, Mongolian and Chaoxian. Because the city’s mix has resulted
in dozens of mosques, pagodas, pavilions, temples and imperial
tombs, making it a popular tourist destination.
As it is, the museum’s façade has been carved with a latticed pattern
that derives from traditional Islamic designs. The effect will be as
striking from the outside, with the building’s lighting shining through the
latticing, as it is from the inside, as natural light finds its way in.
What’s more, the architects believe that their configuration of the
centre’s five levels with their functional partitions is “a new way of
arrangement for the visiting people flow”. If the Yinchuan Government
gives the scheme the go-ahead it will get built in a new central
business district which is intended to extend the existing city
boundaries.
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7/29/2014 Islamic influences inspire exhibition centre in China | Architecture | Agenda | Phaidon
http://de.phaidon.com/agenda/architecture/articles/2013/february/01/islamic-influences-inspire-exhibition-centre-in-northern-china/ 3/3
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