Bangkok-based architecture firm HAS design and research has built a museum featuring curved walls for "endless spiritual perception" in Hefei, China. The project is described as "a poetic sanctuary" by the architects. 

Named Simple Design Archive, the 440-square-metre museum is situated in Anhui, China, it is well-known for the renowned Huangshan alpine, whose breathtaking alpine landscape gives visitors a sense of eternity and limitless spiritual vision.

The building features openings instead of windows, creating a sense of mystery

Modern Northern European furniture and contemporary Asian artwork are collected at the Simple Design Archive, a hybrid museum.

Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee, the founders and architects of HAS Design and Research, were also influenced by this exceptional natural beauty, which led them to design an endless natural flow experience for the museum and art spaces.

In contrast to traditional museums, which typically open directly to the public, the Simple Design Archive has a distinct entrance. Hung And Songkittipakdee (HAS) has installed almost ten curving walls at the entrance, which resemble landscape caves facing the sky, in response to the crowded and noisy surroundings. 

By progressively altering the height of the wall apertures, these walls not only block out the noise from the outside highways but also transform the cave into a poetic sound sanctuary by creating a "echo chamber" courtyard.

During the day, cicadas and birds from the wild world are drawn to the echo chamber courtyard in front of the museum by the aromatic landscape vegetation. 

The extended curved wall forms a natural entryway

This offers city dwellers a new kind of relaxation by bringing a natural and refreshing micro-ecosystem to the cacophonous surrounds and offering tourists a rich and varied audio feast. 

In the afternoon, the curving walls create a church-like hallowed place by blocking the harsh western sunshine and letting some sunlight into the echo chamber courtyard. This gives the normally everyday city life a feeling of remarkable ritual.

The wall also introduces a unique play of light and shadow to the interior space

With its curving walls that reach from the outside to the inside, the external architecture has an impact on the inner space. This creates a dynamic and flowing look that delicately blends the interior and exterior spaces. 

The entryway leads to the curved gallery, where the external seasonal skylight forest garden's tall walls are completely open except for a five-meter-tall skylight. 

The transparent foyer seamlessly integrates with the forest

This forest region gives the space a timeless and everlasting air by coordinating with the sun's movement to cast distinctive light and shadows on the seasonal trees below. 

The art and materials library, on the other hand, offers visitors a calm and stress-free viewing experience with its endless, continuous walls that blend art collections with handcrafted wooden furniture.

The internal art gallery space

In addition to using continuous walls as architectural features for directing, showing, and storing purposes, Simple Design Archive employs these walls to demarcate indoor and outside locations. 

The external curved wall brings a sense of tranquility to the interior space

Architects Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee are working on this project with the goal of creating a lyrical haven that skillfully combines indoor and outdoor areas. 

In addition to being a museum and collection space, it provides residents of the crowded and bustling metropolis with a sense of spatial belonging and deeper spiritual healing. 

This method gives the city and its residents a new sense of life that goes beyond the confines of the architectural site.

The extension of the interior space provides visitors with a relaxing nature effect

Nature and architecture merge seamlessly into one another

Hung And Songkittipakdee (HAS) have designed a unique circulation for these art spaces

The internal art space exudes elegance and timelessness

The floating ceiling creates a pure effect, akin to sunlight pouring down from the sky

Seasonal skylight forest garden links both exterior and interior spaces seamlessly

The unique seasonal skylight forest garden imbues the interior with spirituality and ritual

The curved wall and ceiling provide a dynamic experience

The internal openings not only connect the spaces but also serve as visual axes

Bringing peace of mind and a perception of eternal space

The interior wooden furniture echoes the forest garden, bringing a sense of nature into the space

The seasonal skylight forest garden creates a unique interplay of light and shadow

View from the entrance to the foyer

The forest in the front coexists with the oval bubbles wall

The curved wall not only guides the flow of movement but also creates a unique framing effect

The infinite curved wall extends from the inside to the outside

The curved wall extends upward, creating a unique skylight effect

Ground floor plan

Geometry plan

Axonometric diagram

West elevation

HAS design and research, previously, completed a showroom like "a snowy landscape" in Hefei, China. In addition, the firm designed a public ground interior made of disc-like thousands of aluminum rods in Bangkok, Thailand.

HAS design and research is an internationally recognized, leading architecture practice by architects Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee. 

Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee / HAS design and research explore Asia’s architectural language through a “design + research” parallel approach, emphasizing the analogy of nature and man-made nature.

Project facts

Project name: Simple Design Archive

Location: Hefei, China

Completion year: 2024

Architecture firm: HAS design and research

Lead architects: Jenchieh Hung, Kulthida Songkittipakdee

Design team: Jenchieh Hung, Kulthida Songkittipakdee, Atithan Pongpitak, Tapanee Laddahom

Lighting consultant: Jenna Tsailin Liu

Lighting technology: Visual Feast (VF)

Landscape consultant: Weili Yang

Construction consultant: Zaiwei Song

Constructor: Guangdong Xingyi Decoration Group Anhui Co., Ltd

Gross built area: 440m2

All images © W Workspace.

All drawings © HAS design and research. 

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