Location: Xinjiang, China.

Architect: Xinjiang Wind Architectural Design & Research Institute Co.,Ltd.

The DongZhuang-Building Museum of Western Regions is a unique building located in Tuoli Township, Xinjiang, China. Designed by the Xinjiang Wind Architectural Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., the museum is built on the site of a previous grain shop and is inspired by natural landscapes. The building is made of cement, sand, rebar, and glass, and is designed to protect the environment and conserve resources. The thick walls and small windows shield against the scorching sun in summer and chillness in winter. The design principles of the building include durability, use of local materials and applicable folk building technologies, and harmony with nature. The building is designed to be a container for local life and endows the building with liberty, freeness, and vitality. The building is a “transparent” presence, with no clear internal floors, possibilities of uncertain and multiple applications, and UDLR interconnection. The perfect concave-convex matching with the outer space and the existing space chiseled and space “created” as required for the workers’ needs makes a building under the concept of “harmony” and “container”. The texture of wall brick and floor ceramic tile is completed under the efforts of the designers and 23 local Artux constructors. The theory of uncertain design is obtained from the experience of the architectural design in the Western Regions for decades, which not only requires craftsmanship, and but also should incorporate the awareness from the depth of one’s soul, and quality of respecting natural space. The building is a unique blend of Eastern and Western design principles, making it difficult to define as either.

Photo credit: Yao Li.