Zhuji, Shaoxing, China
Located in the South of Zhuji, the Zhuji Historical Memorial Hall, created by The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University, is a memorial site containing a courtyard and an exhibition space, providing indoor and outdoor views and creating a place for collecting, storing and displaying history.
The project has been awarded a 2023 International Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture, Design and Urban Studies.
The old house on the east side of the cliff records the history of Zhuji and a memorial building is constructed for this milestone in history.
A narrow red cliff, majestic mountains, and yellow flowers on the plot were extracted and incorporated into the design.
By combining those memory fragments and taking red stone aggregate walls as cues, the design team orderly organized a variety of spatial scenes on the narrow, linear plot.
Connected by the storyline, a memorial place full of narratives and literary atmospheres is created.
The slanting wall at the entrance combined with the water curtain is an abstract interpretation of the “dripping cliff,” and it reproduces the historical memory related to the site.
The impressive spatial scale along with the pattern of water creates a storytelling and immersive scene, to let visitors experience the historical achievements.
The front yard incorporates landscape elements that carry regional culture and historical symbolic significance, including some red rocks retained from the excavation of the site, to bring the visitors into a specific time period and space.
Connecting with the indoor exhibition hall, the introverted courtyard is a key node for the narratives of the exhibition.
The monument uses the same red stone aggregates. It shows a sedate temperament.
The path connected with the monument is embedded in the bare red rock on the site, making it an open place for the public.
The return route allows visitors to overlook the city’s wonderful scenery through the outdoor exhibition corridor constructed with unplastered walls to calm their minds as the ending of the architectural narratives.
Various elements, such as openings on the walls, framed and borrowed views of the indoor and outdoor spaces, and symbolic metaphors, promote the overlap and interpenetration among various scenes, and between the building and the environment.
From remembrance to daily life, integrated into citizens’ daily life with an open gesture architects have designed two tour routes.
When the exhibition hall is not open, visitors can reach the Oath Square and the monument along the outdoor exhibition corridor.
This open memorial place serves citizens’ activities such as mountain climbing and sightseeing, socializing, and youth education, achieving the balance between memorial and social values.
Project: Zhuji Historical Memorial Hall
Architects: The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD)
Lead Architect: Mo Zhoujin
Design Team: Qu Jie, Kan Xinyu, Su Renyi, and Wu Hegen
Structural Design Team: Jin Zhenfen, Zhang Li, and Chen Dong
Landscape Design Team: Sun Dongming, and Guo Shurui
Curtain Wall Designers: Bai Qi’an, Yu Ping, Xi Rui
Decoration Designers: Lu Zhefeng, Wang Lijia, Zheng Yanyan
Lighting Designers: Pang Xiaoxiao, Lu Danyu, Zheng Long, Lv Jiaqi, Yu Zicheng, Xiao Shuzheng
General Contractor: Zhancheng Group
Client: Zhuji Urban & Rural Investment Group
Photographers: Zhao Qiang
