Embedded in the Mountain Landscape
The Xiao Feng Art Museum by ZAO / standardarchitecture sits at the foot of Daci Mountain in Hangzhou’s Xihu District, where the dense forest opens to a concrete courtyard. Conceived as a tribute to painters Xiao Feng and Song Ren, the museum unfolds as a continuous architectural loop. It’s an introverted structure whose massing and voids trace the contours of the surrounding hills. From above, it reads as a gentle incision in the green terrain, its form threading between slopes like a line of thought carried through stone and shadow.
Approached from a forest road, the entrance is revealed gradually. Visitors walk beneath a cantilevered bridge that frames a still courtyard at the center of the composition. This inner garden defines the museum’s orientation, its water surface mirroring the faceted underbelly of the concrete volumes above. The experience is buffered by the mountain’s canopy and the cool air rising from the shaded voids below the structure.
the museum sits quietly at the base of a mountain in Hangzhou | images © DONG image
zao maps Circulation as a Continuous Sequence
Inside, movement follows a circular route which the architects at ZAO curate to mirror the XiaoFeng Art Museum’s organic plan. The galleries expand and contract as one progresses, forming a rhythm of compression and release. Narrow passageways lead to larger chambers, while sloped ramps connect the shifting floor levels. The transitions are smooth and deliberate, guiding visitors through a changing sequence of light, texture, and framed views of the landscape beyond.
The polygonal geometry of the building allows the galleries to project outward toward the courtyard. These extensions, sharp-edged volumes with large panoramic glazing, create visual exchanges between interior and exterior. From within, the forest becomes a suspended backdrop to the artworks. From the courtyard, the galleries appear as floating rooms in conversation with one another.
its form follows the contours of the hills, creating a continuous architectural loop
xiaofeng art museum’s Material Weight and Lightness
The entire structure is cast in concrete mixed with black ink pigment, giving the surface a muted, graphite-like tonality that deepens under varying light conditions. The texture, left exposed, bears the imprint of timber formwork, lending warmth to the otherwise monolithic material. The play between light and concrete defines the atmosphere: daylight entering through angular apertures shifts across the rough walls, while at dusk, interior illumination casts faint glows into the courtyard.
This material uniformity heightens the museum’s relationship with its setting. Against the lush green of the mountain, the dark concrete reads as a man-made strata within a geological landscape. The architecture of ZAO / standardarchitecture remains grounded in this contrast, where solid and void, enclosure and view, are held in careful balance.
the entrance is reached by walking beneath a cantilevered bridge into a still courtyard
In the courtyard, the mirrored pools and exposed concrete planes evoke the character of a scholar’s garden reinterpreted through modern form. The reflections create a sense of depth that doubles the surrounding environment, while the sound of water softens the building’s angularity. Small trees grow within the interstitial spaces, their foliage brushing against the walls and glass, bringing a living counterpart to the mineral composition.
the galleries expand and contract as visitors move through the building
a reflecting pool mirrors the faceted concrete planes and frames the forest
ramps and sloped floors connect the different levels in a steady rhythm
black ink pigmented concrete anchors the museum to the terrain with restrained intensity
large glass openings project toward the courtyard to frame views of trees and sky
project info:
name: CCA XiaoFeng Art Museum
architect: ZAO (ZhangKe Architecture Office) / standardarchitecture
location: Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
floor area: 1,298 square meters (13,970 square feet)
completion: 2025
photography: © DONG image | @rudy_dong96
project architect: Zhang Ke
design team: Roberto Caputo. Dai Haifei, Yu Ge, Simon Persson, Virginia Chiappa Nunez, Paolo Failla, Niccoló Calabrese De Feo, Stefano Di Daniel, Jesper Rieter, Qian Yiru, Sofia Chebotareva, Wang Liying, Huang Tanyu, Zhang Mingming, Ouyang Yanquan, Fang Shujun, He Kuang, Zhang Yifan, Lu Juncong, Wang Simiao, Yu Yihua
collaborator: Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
collaborator team: Wang Xiang, Chen Yixin, Li Xiang, Chen Xi, Xi Jiakai, You Bolin, Geng Junjun, Zhu Weichang, Zhang Hua, Wu Pan
exhibition design: Hangzhou GMAID Architecture Design Co,.LTD
exhibition design team: Qian Qi, Yu Xiaoying, Yan Jiafan, Shan Jiale, Dong Xiaoyu
client: China Academy of Art, Qianjiang Management Committee of West Lake Scenic Area
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