Zhang Hua Studio, Tianjin University Research Institute of Architectural Design and Urban Planning Co., Ltd: Winner of World Design Awards 2024. The “Wulingyuan Scenic Area,” a UNESCO World Heritage site, is located in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, which boasts beautiful natural scenery. The sandstone paintings born here are a modern art form native to Zhangjiajie, rich in the artistic characteristics of China, especially Zhangjiajie. It breaks through the traditional painting materials, creatively using natural sandstone and plant materials to draw inspiration from the composition and artistic conception of Chinese painting, and incorporating the light, shadow, and color tones of Western painting to reproduce nature, making it rich in artistic charm and great artistic value and collectibility.

The sandstone painting museum is the concrete artistic creation of the architect’s years of research on fractal geometry theory. The geometric structure of the museum is based on modern fractal geometry as a foundation for artistic practice. In fractal geometry, the classic Sierpinski triangle is the theoretical basis, and by using iterative Sierpinski triangles with different parameters, it is possible to simulate the shapes of the vast majority of natural plant forms. This approach can also be extended to model geometric shapes found in nature, such as the Hausdorff dimension of the Sierpinski carpet after six iterations being approximately 1.893, and the Hausdorff dimension of the Menger sponge being approximately 2.726833. The exterior skin of the museum is composed of a thin two-dimensional lattice, with the spatial dimension of the thin two-dimensional lattice being between one and two dimensions. Therefore, this layer of skin is neither a one-dimensional line nor a two-dimensional surface, but can be approximately considered as a semi-transparent two-dimensional surface. The design also incorporates the concept of random fractals, where the facade composition is neither a realistic representation of natural plants nor a mechanical geometric plane, but rather resembles wild and rampant growth, much like thickets spreading across the mountains. The mountains and rocks in the natural world both have typical fractal structures. The shape of the museum is a coarse-grained reorganization of rocks, which is an important rule in fractal geometry. What needs to be emphasized is that the commonly mentioned four-dimensional experience of architecture actually refers to the physical four-dimensional spacetime, which consists of three spatial dimensions and one dimension of time. This is entirely different from the mathematical meanings of multidimensional and fractal dimensions. Mathematics can have multiple dimensions, even extending to infinite dimensions. In simple terms, the dimension of a mathematical space expresses the complexity of the spatial structure, reflecting the effectiveness of complex forms occupying space. The Chinese dragon and the Egyptian pyramids are both typical examples of fractal compositions.

The Sandstone Painting Museum extracts the typical composition of sandstone paintings, with the diagonally overlapping imitation wooden grilles appearing to be architectural textures depicted with sandstone. The inner layers are stacked with local stones, resembling the texture of a canvas. The inner courtyard draws from the same creative theme, together with the outer building, creating a composition that is quite characteristic of sandstone paintings, resembling the layered and staggered folk houses of western Hunan, vividly expressing natural scenery and folk customs in an abstract manner. The building is situated between mountains and rivers, like an exquisite sandstone painting, possessing the charm of Chinese painting, the freshness of watercolor painting, the solemnity of oil painting, the delicacy of craft painting, and the three-dimensional sense of semi-relief.

The stilted building is a traditional residential building of the Tujia ethnic group in Zhangjiajie, with a full wooden structure. It is hailed as the “wonder of Chinese ethnic architecture” and is the crystallization of agrarian civilization. It not only represents the national culture and holds immense historical research value but also satisfies people’s appreciation and nostalgic sentiments. Due to its ecological preservation, the stilted building is considered the best form of ecological architecture. The sandstone painting of the Tujia stilted building abstracts the poetic imagery of “deep in the mountains, yet the entire village resides within the painting” into a series of landscape masterpieces, becoming a deeply ingrained new cultural and artistic work in Zhangjiajie.

The Sandstone Painting Museum incorporates the classic image of the stilted building into its facade design, arranged in a staggered and interlacing manner, creating a unique form and style that gives people a strong aesthetic feeling. It not only portrays an elegant and delicate posture but also exhibits a strong and vigorous momentum, creating a romantic sentiment unique to the painter. While fully exploring the original beauty of the architecture, the museum also embodies the beauty of its form, space, layers, and contours, showcasing a unique national style.

The mountain and water scenery of Zhangjiajie is truly charming, with its landscape of rocks and mountains resembling a masterpiece of nature. After experiencing billions of years of wind and rain erosion, it has formed a magnificent and varied landscape, like a natural bonsai. The mountain and water scenery depicted in the sandstone paintings is inspired by these rocks, plants, and trees that have been nurtured by the qi of heaven and earth, exuding a unique atmosphere and charm. These landscapes make people feel as if they are in a natural painting, experiencing the wonder and beauty of nature.

The Sandstone Painting Museum is nestled among the mountains and waters, resembling several huge rocks scattered among beautiful scenery. Its grandeur is impressive, yet it also exhibits delicate and exquisite details. As one lingers within, the scenery from every angle is different and incredibly beautiful, much like the shining red rocks and floating clouds in the Golden Whip Stream. In the sandstone paintings, the peaks appear and disappear, creating an ever-changing and enchanting landscape.

Project Details:-
Firm
Zhang Hua Studio, Tianjin University Research Institute of Architectural Design and Urban Planning Co., Ltd

Architect
Hua Zhang

Project Name
Zhangjiajie Sandstone Painting Museum

Project Category
Cultural Built

Team
Qian Li, Qing Guo, Qingwen Sun, Qian Wang, Jianwu Wang

Project Location
Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province, China

Country
China

Photography ©Credit
Chen Su, UK Studio

Zhang Hua studio

( Manifold, Fractal, Quasi crystal mosaic)

Zhang Hua

Director of Zhang Hua studio, Tianjin University Research Institute of Architectural Design and Urban Planning Co., Ltd

Architect, Professor

Member of Architectural Society of China

Aiming at designing original building of China, Dr. Zhang continues to explore in architecture design, and his main research direction is Fractal theory, Topology theory and parametric design of modern architecture. His own theory, the “manifold” theory, is so advanced and practical, that has a positive and directive significance on innovation of national culture and scientificity of architectural design.

He engaged in architectural design more than 46 years, with innovative design and theory in the fields of cultural construction, education construction and high-rise building. He dedicates to initiated architecture, and the research direction is fractal theory, topological theory and computer parametric design of modern architecture.

According to years of thinking about design and new mathematical theory, He proposes three new concepts: manifold, fractal and splicing. According to documents, “manifold” is a very important concept in mathematics, its meaning is infinite folding, which is translated into Chinese by Zehan Jiang, a famous mathematician. There is another words “metamorphosis” means transformation. Architectural manifolds have both the above two meanings and not only the mathematic concept. This term can be concluded about several points:

1、Mechanics–shape from static to dynamic,

2、Differential – line from straight to curve,

3、Level–block from large to small,

4、Optics–color from dark to light,

5、Metering–crevice from wide to narrow,

6、Measurement–surface layer from thick to thin,

7、Physical–texture from coarse to smooth,

8、Dimension–space from two-dimensional to three-dimensional,

9、Character–temperament from rough to soft,

10、Philosophy–attributes from Yin to Yang,

11、State–phenomenon from real to virtual,

12、Composition–from nature to man-made, 

13、Materials–from reflection to absorption.

Liuzhou Suiseki Hall and Yu Qingcheng Art Museum are the results of practice under his theoretical framework.

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