The New Guangzhou Art Museum

Guangzhou has an old and a new central axes. Along the latter lies the new Guangzhou Museum of Art, which resembles a flower blooming heroically. The building is surrounded by 12 “petals” (three on each side), 35 meters tall and 34 meters wide each, and connected organically. The exterior is composed of 21,008 photovoltaic glass panels pieced together by hand, forming the largest PV panel set on the exterior wall of any public building.

The lights are fixed to the horizontal trusses between the panels and backing, illuminating all the nearby space and making visible the colors and patterns of the inner structural components and ornamental panels. The most appealing aspect of the museum building is its double exterior, which is also the focus of the lighting. The backing for the curtain wall is made of aluminum. The panels, 240 cm x 25 cm each, are painted with a RAL D2 color scheme and joined together. The color is rich and thick at the top and paler at the bottom, making it look like flower petals and forming a unique color rhythm on the inner wall. With the exterior glass installed at a 45-degree angle and the pattern of the black PV components, a rich display of light and shadow is created, giving the “flower” an intense sense mystery.

At night, the large building stands out from the surroundings despite the low intensity of the lighting. In a bird’s-eye view, the museum and the Canton Tower in the distance set each other off like a beautiful flower in front of a slender woman, outlining the city’s new axis and showing us the true splendor of this “heroic flower”.