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Architects: Penda China Architecture
- Area: 3300 m²
- Year: 2024
Text description provided by the architects. After 100 days of renovation, the Hive Center for Contemporary Art was officially unveiled in November. The renovation task was undertaken by architect Sun Dayong, who designed and renovated the 3,300-square-meter gallery space as a whole. As the largest single-building gallery in the 798 Art District, the Hive Center for Contemporary Art has attracted much attention in recent years. 17 years ago, it was transformed from a factory into the Iberia Center for Contemporary Art (ICCA), a non-profit organization, and was later taken over by the Hive Center for Contemporary Art. As the saying goes, there is never a best time, and the best time is now. In a time of recent economic recession, the Hive hopes to improve its own and the industry's standards by means of this renovation in 2024. This renovation can be interpreted as the 3.0 version of the 798 Art District. 798 has developed from the earliest 1.0 version of the factories to the 2.0 version of the art spaces with industrial style characteristics. Today, 798 has become a globally influential gathering place for international contemporary art, so the 3.0 version of the art space pays more attention to the artwork itself and provides the best exhibition environment for the artwork. Looking to the future and the world, the renovation of the Hive Center for Contemporary Art erased the traces of industrial factories and instead created a pure white box space that is more international and contemporary.
This renovation includes the redesign of the facade, lobby, exhibition hall, office area, VIP room, and even toilets and storage, as well as the supporting central air conditioning, lighting system, water and electricity network, etc. In addition, a reading area is set up in the lobby, and a corridor functioning as a landscape bridge has been added on the second floor. Standing in this area, you can overlook the interior of the main exhibition hall， and also see the exterior of the space. After the renovation, the overall building is like a huge minimalist sculpture.
The architect's design concept can be summarized as three "W"s. The first is "White". The white box is the ideal prototype of an art space. The second is "Weight". The progressive linear spatial sequence reminds the architect of a temple, so a group of large columns is designed in the foyer, just like the colonnade in the Karnak Temple, giving people a solemn and sacred feeling. The third W is "Will". People can find a dialogue between power and spirituality in architecture. The grid-shaped roof structure of the main exhibition hall establishes a rigorous spatial order. The light shines down from above, and people seem to be separated from the real world and are in the temple of art.
"When I first came to the Hive, I entered a low gate and saw a tall and narrow lobby. After opening a 5-meter-high sliding door, I saw a huge exhibition hall with a grand scale, and it was very impressive. This reminded me of my first experience in the Pantheon in Rome. I walked through the colonnade and the foyer and entered the dome hall with a diameter of 43 meters. The sunlight sprinkled in the square niches on the dome, and the shadows moved slowly in the concave and convex stepped caisson shape. I lay on a chair and looked up at the 8.9-meter-diameter round hole in the center. I felt extremely calm and moved. I hope to pass on this peace and emotion to more people. The renovated Hive Center for Contemporary Art is the Pantheon in my heart." - Sun Dayong said.
This renovation is not only a reshaping of the interior space but also a redesign of the building's facade. In front of the red brick texture of the original building, the central lobby stands out from the building in a simple cubic form. The white decorative concrete gives the block a handmade texture that echoes the original building. At the same time, the white color stands out from the environment. The embedded colonnade seems to trace the influence of Adolf Loos, the classic modernist master. Loos's idea of "ornament is crime" has also influenced later architects. Sun Dayong proposed the idea of "less is love" on the basis of modernism's emphasis on functionality and added oriental warmth and consideration for sustainability.
The four columns at the entrance were added intentionally by the architect. The architect said that these columns were inspired by the colonnade of the Karnak Temple, highlighting the contrast of scale, allowing people to feel the change of spatial rhythm in the path of entry, creating a solemn spatial atmosphere and a sense of ritual. In the center of the column is the reception desk, full of rituality. Above the service desk is a corridor that crosses the colonnade. People on the second floor walk horizontally between the colonnades, just like the scenery in a framed window. The front hall, the deputy hall on the right, and the corridor bridge on the second floor will be open to the public free of charge as an open exhibition in the future, reflecting the social service attributes of art institutions. A reading area is also set up on the first floor for people to rest and read.
The space of the main exhibition hall is divided into 18 equal parts by grids of the roof. In the center of each grid is a luminous film to simulate skylight, and light tracks and air-conditioning vents are situated under the beams. The luminous ceiling can be lit up as a whole or individually. It provides even lighting for the entire exhibition hall. The square beams build a new order for the space and provide reference coordinates for the space. The office area at the back has also been re-planned, with logistics circulation and access added, and the storage has also been expanded. The second-floor office space adopts an open space layout to encourage communication, creating a harmonious working atmosphere for the Hive staff. The third floor releases the ceiling space and skylight and re-opens windows on the exterior wall to extend the order of the exhibition space. The third floor is used as a large conference room and administration office. The VIP area in the backyard has also been upgraded as a whole, emphasizing the sculptural design and the interactive relationship between the courtyard and the building.
The overall space of the Hive is dominated by white tones, clean and pure. This is related to the personal experience of architect Sun Dayong. When invited by Kenya Hara to participate in the China House Vision in 2018, Sun Dayong exchanged and communicated closely with Kenya Hara. Sun Dayong was deeply influenced by Kenya Hara, and he also loved Hara's book "White". In the white world, the sense of nothingness and abstract beauty fascinated him. Ten years ago, Sun Dayong's famous work Hongkun Art Gallery received widespread attention in the industry, and the arched elements are still fresh in people's memory. Ten years later, in the Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Sun Dayong removed the pleasing form and covered everything in white. Just as Sun Dayong firmly believes that spirituality is the ultimate pursuit of architecture, architecture is a tribute to light.
