Snøhetta together with BIAD win the competition to design the Beijing Art Museum

Framed by Vision: Shaping the Evolving Urban Landscape

Image by Proloog

Snøhetta, in collaboration with Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD), has won the competition to design the Beijing Art Museum in Tongzhou District, Beijing. This landmark project will mark Snøhetta’s second major cultural institution in the Chinese capital, following the internationally acclaimed Beijing Library, which opened in 2023.

Spanning over 110,000 square meters, the new art museum will showcase a diverse range of art forms - from fine arts and intangible cultural heritage to fashion design and contemporary art. By bridging historical traditions and modern creativity, the art museum is poised to become a new beacon for Beijing’s thriving art and cultural scene. Beyond its role as a cultural hub, the art museum will also serve as a civic gathering place for the local community and a catalyst for the new urban development in the area.

Image by Proloog

The design proposal adopts the concept of “vision,” manifesting the dual ambition of the museum: to collect and gather, and to exhibit and reveal. It is envisioned not merely as a custodian and connoisseur of culture and knowledge, but as a catalyst that elevates the act of viewing into an aesthetic experience—transforming observation into art. This concept orchestrates a multidimensional dialogue, bridging the abstract and the tangible: connecting artists with audiences, history with the future, architecture with landscape, individuals with communities, and cities with the world. The museum becomes a living nexus where ideas intersect and perspectives converge, fostering a continuum of creativity and interpretation. The Beijing Art Museum is a crucible of pluralistic expression and perceptual diversity—a place where countless visions coexist and flourish. The idea of “vision” aspires to embrace this richness, like an ocean gathering the tributaries of thought and imagination.

Positioned above a metro line, the museum doubles as a transportation hub, linking visitors to the art world. Its sculptural massing radiates outwards from a central core, while lens-like, rippled facades dissolve boundaries between building and landscape, establishing a dynamic public realm that engages the local community. The design harmonizes programmatic complexity and the diverse user experiences, ensuring flexibility and inclusivity.

 

Image by Proloog

At the heart of the museum lies a kaleidoscopic atrium that acts as a gravitational pull, drawing various program elements inward. This circular space features semi-open pockets for exhibitions and social interaction across multiple levels, creating vertical connectivity and spatial continuity throughout the building. Galleries, storage, and support functions spiral around the atrium, extending into petal-like volumes that offer panoramic views of the surrounding context, juxtaposing the experience of looking out with a sense of being seen.

The landscape design, conceived as an organic extension of the building’s radiating architectural language, unfolds into generous civic realms that invite sculptures, dialogues and outdoor engagement. It is not merely an adjunct but a spatial continuum—where architecture, landscape, and interior coalesce into a unified cultural tapestry. Through this synergy, the Beijing Art Museum transcends its physical boundaries, projecting its presence and resonance into the urban fabric and beyond. It becomes a place of convergence—connecting people, ideas, and experiences—while celebrating the continuum of time across past, present, and future.

Image by Snøhetta

The Beijing Art Museum integrates sustainability at its core, featuring photovoltaic panels on the roof and a resilient landscape design that incorporates water management strategies aligned with sponge city principles—creating a harmonious balance between architecture and ecology.

The Beijing Art Museum broke ground on December 31, 2025 and is estimated to open in 2029.

 

 

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Beijing Art Museum

Year: 2025 –

Status: ongoing

Location: Beijing

Size: 118,861 sqm 

Client: Beijing Fine Art Academy

Construction Management: Beijing Investment Group Co.,Ltd.

Concept and Schematic Design: Snøhetta, BIAD

Construction Design: BIAD

Scope: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interior Architecture

Typology: Museum & Gallery, Public Space, Destination, Education & Research

Images: Proloog, Snøhetta

 

Serein Liu

Communication Manager Asia, Snøhetta

 

 

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About Snøhetta

For almost 40 years, Snøhetta has designed some of the world’s most notable public and cultural projects. Snøhetta kick-started its career in 1989 with the competition-winning entry for the new library of Alexandria, Egypt. This was later followed by the commission for the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, and the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center in New York City, among many others. 

Since its inception, the practice has maintained its original transdisciplinary approach, and often integrates a combination of architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, product design and art across its projects. The collaborative nature between Snøhetta's different disciplines is an essential driving force of the practice.

Today, Snøhetta has a global presence, with studios in seven locations spanning from Oslo to Paris, Innsbruck, New York, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Melbourne.

Snøhetta is currently working on a wide range of international projects, including the Shanghai Grand Opera House, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Dakota, Harbourside redevelopment in Sydney and La Croisette in Cannes, to name a few. 

Recently completed works include Vertikal Nydalen in Oslo, Beijing City Library, the renovation of Musée national de la Marine in Paris, Orionis - the planetarium and observatory of Douai, Airside in Hong Kong, Esbjerg Maritime Center in Denmark, 550 Madison Garden and Revitalization in New York, as well as Volum lamps for Lodes.

Some of Snøhetta's previous projects include Ordrupgaard Art Museum expansion in Denmark, the Cornell University Executive Education Center and Hotel in New York City, Le Monde Group Headquarters in Paris, including the wayfinding and signage, Europe’s first underwater restaurant, Under, the redesign of the public space in Times Square, the expansion to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Lascaux IV: The International Centre for Cave Art, Powerhouse Brattørkaia and design for Norway’s new banknotes.

Snøhetta’s working method simultaneously explores traditional handicraft and cutting-edge digital technology. At the heart of all Snøhetta’s work lies a commitment to social and environmental sustainability, shaping the built environment and design in the service of humanism. Every project is designed with strong, meaningful concepts in mind – concepts that can translate the ethos of its users and their context.

Among many recognitions, Snøhetta has been awarded the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award for the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the Aga Kahn Prize for Architecture for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. In 2016, Snøhetta was named Wall Street Journal Magazine's Architecture Innovator of the Year, and the practice has been named one of the world’s most innovative companies by Fast Company two years in a row. In 2020, Snøhetta was awarded the National Design Award for Architecture, bestowed by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. In 2021 and 2022, Snøhetta’s Forite tiles won the Sustainable Design of the Year by Dezeen and Best Domestic Design by Wallpaper* in 2022, and the wayfinding system for Le Monde Group Headquarters was acknowledged with Monocle Design Awards. In 2023, Snøhetta won a number of awards for the Esbjerg Maritime Center and was named Architects of the Year at the Monocle Design Awards, in 2024 included a number of awards to Beijing Library and the BIA 2024 Award to Snøhetta and in 2025, Snøhetta was recognized with the OPAL Special Award for Sustainability, among others. 

Disclaimer: All materials provided by Snøhetta are intended exclusively for editorial use to communicate the specified project(s). The use of this material for commercial or third-party purposes is strictly prohibited. No material may be edited or altered from its original state in any manner. Credit must be given for all content used, acknowledging Snøhetta and/or the photographer or creator as the source. By using Snøhetta's press material, you agree to these terms and conditions.

 

Contact

Snøhetta Akershusstranda 21, Skur 39 N-0150 Oslo, Norway

press@snohetta.com

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