MoCAPE by Coop Himmelb(l)au

Austrian architecture practise Coop Himmelb(l)au embarks upon 2 separate projects which both replicate the monolithic scale of China.

The first project is the Museum of Contemporary Art & Planning Exhibition (MoCAPE)  which merges two museums into one complex touted as an ‘Urban Monolith’.

The  enormity of the complex is reflected by the boundary of the south coast city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong in which it occupies. To ceate a presence in the predominantly high-rise district, MoCAPE is crafted as a ‘giant’ in order to create a domineering presence .

One of its highlight is the use of only skylighting as a source of natural light and deep overhangs to further enhance the dominance or the building from street level.

The Second project, a multi-use Conference Center, breaks ground in Dalian, near the south east tip of China, and echoes MoCAPE’s scale at 1million m³. The design is targeted to  reflect the promising modern future of Dalian and its tradition as an important port, trade, industry and tourism city. The soft form responds well with the coarse line, creating a lasting impression at the same time.

There is also a public zone with shopping at ground level and a 1,900 seat theatre and 2,500 capacity conference space situated 15m above the entrance hall as floating spaces. Smaller conference spaces are situated around this core space as support facilities.

Futuristic  design by Coop Himmelb(l)au

What do you think of the design? I would like to hear your comments.