How an Award-Profitable Museum Shall we the Gentle In

2023 Best of Year Winner for International Museum

What’s the crowning glory of an innovative, mixed-use addition for the Qujiang Museum of Fine Arts in Xi’an, China, housing retail, hospitality, and events programming? A lanternlike structure anchoring the east entry. Clad in red travertine slabs, the cylindrical edifice by Neri&Hu Design and Research Office features evenly spaced portals that usher daylight down into the walkway wrapping the cylinder’s base, while, up top, a hollowed-out, bowl-shape amphitheater with stepped seating encircles a lightwell that descends straight through the core. It’s a new community beacon—and another home run from the firm led by Interior Design Hall of Fame members Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu.