Sanbaopeng Art Museum / DL Atelier

Architects: DL Atelier
Year: 2017
Photographs: Sun Haiting
Electrical Engineering: Hou Yanming
Planning: Mass+Skin Design Studio
Landscape: UAO Design
Construction: Wuhan Huilan Environment and Art Design
Design Team: Liu Yang, Hu Zhaowai, Sun Xinye, Deng Huahui, Zhang Ruyi, Wang Kun, Lu Xuwen, Bao Hui
Construction Drawings: Zeal
Client: Sanbaoteng Art Settlement
Structure: Wang Chunlei
HVAC: Liu Qing, Guo Haifeng
REW Consultants: Has Wall
City: Jingdezhen
Country: China

Sanbaopeng Art Museum, designed by DL Atelier in Sanbao village near Jingdezhen, uses local clay-rich earth to reflect the area’s porcelain heritage. DL Atelier aimed to highlight the relationship between artists and their materials, drawing inspiration from the unpredictable nature of porcelain-making. The museum features rammed-earth walls that stretch 150 meters along the valley floor, blending geometric forms with the natural landscape. An open passage and staggered interior spaces offer visitors multiple paths to explore. Reflecting ponds and stepping stones are integrated throughout, while the upper levels and canopy are clad in titanium-zinc panels, chosen for their ability to age naturally over time.

This art museum is situated on the outskirts of Jingdezhen, a city renowned for its porcelain production, prompting architecture studio DL Atelier to use the region’s clay-rich earth for the walls. DL Atelier designed the Sanbaopeng Art Museum for a site in Sanbao village, located on the outskirts of Jingdezhen, known as the “porcelain capital.” Over the past decade, many porcelain artists have set up studios in this area.

The village, already home to a large community of artists and exhibition spaces, inspired the studio to design a distinctive environment that uses architecture to reflect the deep connection between creators and their materials. DL Atelier principal Liu Yang explained, “At the very beginning, my interests were more focused on telling stories between artists and their creations than just designing a ‘me-too’ museum.”

The studio was inspired by the porcelain-making process, where the unpredictable results of firing in a kiln often lead to imperfections that enhance the character of the final pieces. This “romantic relationship” between the maker and their artworks influenced the design of the building, which aims to evoke a similar sense of mystery and unpredictability in both its layout and materiality.

Locally sourced clay was used to construct the rammed-earth walls, designed to seem as if they rise naturally from the ground, adding a textured detail that the architects hoped “could offer a poetic feeling.” DL Atelier stated, “Sanbao village naturally produces unique soil, slightly red in colour, so we decided to build the continuous loam walls with local clay, which delivers a certain familiarity and tension.”

The museum follows a linear layout, with a series of rectilinear volumes rising above four-meter-high walls that extend 150 meters along the valley floor. The strict geometric forms highlight the contrast between the manmade structure and its natural surroundings, where streams weave through the forests and wind across the valley.

The outer walls border an open central passage extending 100 meters, interrupted only by glazed surfaces, which introduce transparency that contrasts with the solid earthen walls on either side.

A cantilevered canopy guides visitors toward an entrance at one end of the building, which is nestled among trees and situated near a stream. Instead of a linear arrangement of rooms, the museum’s spaces are staggered and spread across different levels, allowing visitors to choose their own paths through the building.

The studio explained, “Multiple choices are provided in the museum. Visitors can go up and down, feel the delightful stream or peaceful pond, enjoy the exhibition, or relax in the corner.” The studio noted that “every tour will be a story between visitors and the architecture, a blend of discovery, expectation, waiting, anxiety, disappointment, and joy.”

Several areas within the museum are separated by still reflecting ponds. To reach the first-floor reception area, visitors must cross one of these ponds using stepping stones that lead to a travertine staircase. Water flows throughout the building and is visible through full-height glazed surfaces. Additional stepping stones create a path that connects to a staircase leading up to a gallery space.

The protruding upper levels and features like the entrance canopy are clad in titanium-zinc panels, chosen for their ability to age gracefully, similar to the earth and travertine stone, developing a natural patina over time.