2019 Archive : Museum Forbidden City Beijing

Project Details

Fabric 1

Serge Ferrari PVC
Producer:

Engineer Company 1
RODER CHINA GROUP

Design Name
JIU JIN JIN

Design Company
RODER CHINA GROUP

Architect Company
RODER CHINA GROUP

Fabrication Company
RODER CHINA GROUP

Graphics Name
LU YONG FENG

Graphics Company
RODER CHINA GROUP

Project Manager Name
TRACY CUI

Project Manager Company
RODER CHINA GROUP

Installation Company
RODER CHINA GROUP

Please describe the project specifications

The Palace Museum within the Forbidden City in Beijing needed an innovative design concept that fits perfectly into the architecture of the Forbidden City and offers enough space for the technological presentation of an ancient treasure, the so-called "Qingming Role". The Forbidden City is located in the heart of the Chinese Capital Beijing, bordered by huge walls and was home to the biggest and most prosperous Chinese dynasties. With 9,999 rooms it is the largest palace in the world (over 1.6 million sq. ft.).

What was the purpose of this project? What did the client request?

The construction was chosen to exhibit a 4D replica of the most famous drawing in Chinese History. This National Art Treasure "Life along the Bian River at the Pure Brightness Festival" is one of the most important of the 1,860,000 exhibits of the Palace Museum and the most well-known work of ancient Chinese art.The “Qingming Role” of the painter Zhang Zeduan, about 25 cm high and more than 5 m long, shows the everyday life in Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song dynasty about 1,000 years ago. The painting – also called "China's Mona Lisa" – is known for the detailed representation of urban life, of people and animals, of boats and bridges, of shops and landscapes.

What is unique or complex about the project?

Museums must integrate into the increasingly networked world in the 21st century and reach the public through the latest methods of exhibition presentation. Implementing this in a historical environment such as the Forbidden City in Beijing is not an easy undertaking. The construction should not make a big contrast with the traditional architecture of the surroundings.
Our team showed, what Textile Architecture can enable: combining tradition with modernity in an imposing design and putting the project into scene with a self-designed exhibition pavilion. For this particular purpose we disguised a 25 m x 65 m hall construction. The facade is adapted to the ancient Chinese style, matching the historic buildings of the Forbidden City. The entire building used a heavy-weight flooring system as ballast, because no nails were allowed. The imposing "Palace Exhibition Museum" with a height of 6 meters offered the perfect space for a unique presentation.

What were the results of the project?

The exhibition was divided into four parts: a huge digital edition of the original, the interactive theatre Sun Yangdian, a 4D full dome cinema and a cultural representation of the Song Dynasty. The unique innovative presentation of this masterpiece with the help of digital technology brings the historical work to life and made it more attractive for a larger audience who wanted to understand Chinese culture.
Curators and project managers of the Palace Museum were enthusiastic about the architectural realisation, the duration of the exhibition was extended by 3 months due to the positive resonance.

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