The Red Dot Design Museum by STEPS Architecture stands as a vibrant cultural beacon within the bustling cityscape of Xiamen, China. Nestled within the commercial podium of Xinglin Bay's highest office building in the Jimei District, this innovative museum breathes new life into a previously vacant space, repurposing it to blend seamlessly with its surroundings.
(Photo : Red Dot 2024)
Design Concept
The museum's exterior draws attention with its striking red elements, which adorn the plaza and bridge, guiding visitors towards its entrance. Inspired by consumer culture and the evolving nature of museum spaces, the design eschews traditional paradigms by merging the spatial systems of a museum and a shopping mall. Rather than a conventional white-box approach, the Red Dot Design Museum offers a wandering experience akin to strolling through a retail environment.
(Photo : CreatAR Images – Ai Qing)
Interior Design Excellence
Collaborating with Network Party, the design team at STEPS Architecture maximizes the interior spatial potential of the museum's commercial podium. They integrate retail spaces, coffee shops, and restaurants, creating a dynamic environment. The centerpiece of the interior is a striking double-spiral red staircase, transformed from the atrium. LED screens line the staircase, displaying posters and videos, captivating both onsite and online audiences.
Flexibility and openness are paramount in the museum's design, with strategies aimed at dissolving the boundaries between exhibition halls and other spaces. Showcase-lined corridors and prefabricated boundaries replace traditional walls, offering versatile exhibition spaces and facilitating efficient construction processes.
Looking beyond its physical space, the Red Dot Design Museum plays a pivotal role in future operations and exhibition design in the area. It serves as a hub for design education, providing spaces for sessions, forums, and conferences, nurturing the next generation of designers. Dedicated spaces for children feature interactive exhibitions and educational activities, blending learning with enjoyment.
This repurposing of commercial space into a dynamic cultural hub blurs the lines between traditional museum experiences and contemporary consumer environments. Colorful red accents occur throughout the museum's exterior and interior providing a graphic correlated path and subsequently helping the visitors navigate through this complex walkway of creativity and inspiration.
Animated Displays and Artistic Exploration
Animated displays are a convenient means for museums to give the visitors a memorable and imitating visual experience which results in their learning. Other than the passage and the central area of the museum, the corridors and the open space are open to discovery and they awake the artistic vein of the museum's visitors.
To summarize, the award winner Red Dot Design Museum by STEPS Architecture is of witness to best practices in creative architecture and reusing space. Through the cooperation between museum and retail it creates a novel space nurturing the imagination, the education, and the attachment of audience of all ages to visitors. Giving Xiamen the position of a cultural center it establishes itself not only as a place for the enjoyment and entertainment but also as a guide for the modern design philosophies.