Location: Wuhan, China.
Architect: GreenbergFarrow.
Wuhan is set to transform two historic German warehouses in the city’s Hankou district into a world-class museum. The new Metro Museum will occupy 15,990 square metres, with half of the space dedicated to the museum and the rest used for commercial purposes, including restaurants, coffee shops, souvenir stores and flexible office space. The museum will feature a life-size Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) that spans two floors and can be seen from outside the building. Visitors will enter the museum through one of three entrances, including one located in the metro station on line 7. The visitor centre is located on the top floor of the museum, featuring an iconic spiral staircase that connects from the top to the ground. The renovation strategy for the existing buildings is to retain the integrity of the original architectural characteristics while creating new entrances and a sculpture park. The building will have three main entrances and exits, with the main entrance connected to the subway station. The museum will have two main functions, exhibition and commercial, with a flexible layout to accommodate changes in the exhibition space in the future. The city’s vision is to create a museum that seamlessly integrates art and commercial spaces to activate local businesses and organisations and enrich lives.