The Douban Museum

The Douban Museum is located in Pidu District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Adopting a modern pitched roof form, the design draws from the spatial concept of a courtyard to interpret the symbiotic relationship between architecture and the Linpan (woodland-farmland settlement) ecosystem. The museum sits within the natural environment of the western Sichuan Linpan, where farmland serves as the base and houses as the figure, resembling a single douban (broad bean) scattered across the fields. The bell pepper-inspired roof creates a distinctive "pepper roof", forming a symbiotic image of a house nestled among bamboo and integrating into the spatial fabric of the natural Linpan ecology. The design strictly controls building height and minimizes above-ground massing, allowing the museum to merge gently into the Linpan skyline with a low, tranquil profile. The roof is structured with glued laminated timber beams, restoring traditional materials while meeting contemporary construction requirements. Steel columns support a double-curved steel ring beam at the top, which in turn carries the timber roof structure, enabling a large-span museum space and maximizing the mechanical efficiency of the wooden beams. The roof detailing incorporates four key colors randomly distributed, drawn from the ripening and drying process of chili peppers, as if countless peppers have been lightly scattered over the building. These variegated "color pepper" circular tubes replace traditional small gray tiles in an innovative manner. The layout of the pepper modules precisely aligns with the roof structure, creating a reciprocal relationship between skeleton and skin. The design continues the essence of traditional architecture while imbuing it with a distinctly contemporary materiality and aesthetic expression.