An old new house: The Ningbo Museum of History

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An old new house: The Ningbo Museum of History

Published: 28 Apr. 2025, 00:05

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Kim Bong-ryeol

The author is an architect and professor emeritus at Korea National University of Arts.

Ningbo, located in Zhejiang Province along China’s Eastern Seaboard, was once the greatest trading hub on the East China Sea, frequented by merchant ships from Silla and Goryeo. It was also a frequent target for foreign invaders and pirates, leading to the development of mountain fortresses and coastal strongholds. Opened in 2008, the Ningbo Museum of History conceptually embodies the city’s maritime and military past, offering visitors an experience of Ningbo’s historical landscape through the building itself.

The Ningbo Museum of History conceptually embodies the city’s maritime and military past. [KIM BONG-RYEOL]

The museum consists of 5 structures housing 5 exhibition halls. The first floor features a central hall, while the second and third floors are centered on an open rooftop space connecting the buildings. The structures are deliberately skewed and sloped, with a separation of materials — brick finishes and exposed concrete — creating an unfamiliar striking facade. The randomly punctured windows across the exterior walls were inspired by the rock-cut temples scattered across inland China’s mountain cliffs. Inside, the central hall evokes a massive cave, while the rooftop spaces resemble either narrow mountain gorges or a harbor filled with anchored ships. The interior as a whole forms an “archaeological promenade,” a space where past and present meet.

To build the museum, the city of Ningbo demolished numerous farmhouses in the area. The architect repurposed the salvaged materials as key building elements. Walls were constructed by mixing bricks of varying shapes, roof tiles, and stones, finished using wapan, a traditional technique involving a lime-based plaster. As a result, the museum’s exterior recalls the vernacular architecture of the Yangtze River region. Concrete walls, poured using bamboo molds, resemble a fossilized bamboo forest — a fitting tribute, as bamboo crafts are a specialty of Ningbo and a highlight of the museum’s exhibitions.

The museum was designed by Wang Shu, now 62, who famously criticized China’s architectural establishment as producing “professional but soulless technical buildings.” Alongside his partner and wife, Lu Wenyu, Wang founded Amateur Architecture Studio, a firm dedicated to site-specific and historically resonant designs. He is lauded for his “unique ability to evoke the past without directly referencing history.” Through works such as the Xiangshan Campus of the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, Wang has demonstrated a consistent architectural philosophy, earning major awards in China, Germany and France. In 2012, he became the first Chinese laureate of the Pritzker Prize, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.