Small Museum of Contemporary Art (SMOCA)
Quanzhou, China, 1998
The composition of this artful rendering echoes traditional Chinese landscape paintings. The project itself exemplifies an ecologically friendly, budget-conscious approach to creating a contemporary structure that also speaks to traditional Chinese architecture. The New York-based artist Cai Guoqiang asked Yung Ho Chang and Atelier FCJZ to help build a center for contemporary art.
To accommodate the artist's relatively tiny budget, the architects improvised -- using local stones as well as wood, bricks, tiles, and other items that they garnered from homes being demolished near the art center's site. The incorporation of local, found materials echoes the area's tradition of mixing rocks and brick in wall construction.