The OCT Design Museum, a UFO appears to have landed on the site of Shenzen’s OCT Design Museum. The new OCT Design Museum has been created especially for events like fashion shows, product design and automotive events, ‘the goal was to build a space that feels transcendental and surreal,’ says Pei Zhu, principal at Studio Pei-Zhu, which designed the museum’s structure. The interior of the museum has been painted entirely white, contains an entry lobby and café on the first floor, while the exhibition spaces strike with movable walls for flexible use throughout the rest of the building. More details from the architect come after the jump.
courtesy of Studio Pei-Zhu
Project Description from Studio Pei-Zhu
The inspiration for the project comes from both the location being close to the bay and from the needs of the program, a surreal space for design exhibitions. The Oct design museum focuses mainly on fashion shows, product design, and conceptual automotive shows.
Courtesy of Studio Pei-Zhu
The goal was to create a space that is surreal to the subject matter but also transcendental in surrounding and feeling. The design of the interior relies on a continuous white curving surface that casts no shadows and has no depth. The result is a surreal borderless space that seems to go on into the infinite, similar to the feeling of a James Turrell installation. The effect is like being in a cloud or dense fog.
Courtesy of Studio Pei-Zhu
The building becomes a blank surreal background, with only small triangular windows scattered randomly, as if they were birds in flight. Typically an automobile looks very heavy but in this limitless space it becomes weightless, letting its curves, shadows, and intense colors become the focal point of the show. The first floor of the building holds the entry lobby and café, while the second and third is mainly exhibition space. Storage space is spread out evenly through the floors, with movable walls allow the exhibition spaces to be very flexible in scale and function.
Courtesy of Studio Pei-Zhu
The exterior form of the building is a direct reflection of the continuous curving space inside. The smooth organic form has a similar surreal yet transcendental effect when seen outside in its urban setting. Set into its landscape, the building’s form seems to float above the ground, as if it was not from this planet. Being 300 meters from the ocean, we took inspiration in the smooth stones found along the beach. It is like a purely smooth stone cast into an overly saturated urban setting.
Project info:
Architects: Studio Pei-Zhu
Country: China, Shenzhen
Area: 5000 m²
Year: 2011
Photographs: Courtesy of Studio Pei-Zhu
Ibrahim Abdelhady is an architect, academic, and media entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in architecture and digital publishing. He is the Founder and CEO of Arch2O.com, a leading platform in architectural media, renowned for showcasing innovative projects, student work, and critical discourse in design. Holding dual PhDs in Architecture, Dr. Abdelhady combines academic rigor with industry insight, shaping both future architects and architectural thought. He actively teaches, conducts research, and contributes to the global architecture community through his writing, lectures, and media ventures. His work bridges the gap between practice and academia, pushing the boundaries of how architecture is communicated in the digital age.