Flexible sequence of spaces showcases Western & Eastern traditions

The Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by Tenderstream member Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) alongside ARTS Group, VIA.inc and SHUISHI, is now officially open to the public. The 60,000 sq m museum, located on the shores of Jinji lake, is comprised of 12 pavilions situated beneath a continuous, ribbon-like roof. Marking BIG’s first completed art museum, the project opens following a series of preview exhibitions as a new venue for contemporary art, design, and public life in Suzhou, with BIG’s Materialism exhibition remaining on view.

Rooted in the tradition of Suzhou's gardens, the museum reimagines the lang, a covered corridor that traces a path through a landscape, as a network of exhibition spaces. A continuous route threads through the museum's pavilions, connecting galleries, gathering spaces, and cultural venues, while allowing visitors to branch off along smaller paths between exhibitions. Linked by bridges and tunnels above and below ground, the museum offers a flexible sequence of spaces shaped by changing exhibitions and seasons.

The museum now opens with a series of inaugural exhibitions spanning modern and contemporary art, technology-driven artistic practices, and cross-cultural dialogue between Eastern and Western artistic traditions. Ahead of the official opening, visitors were welcomed through a series of preview exhibitions, including BIG’s Materialism, which explored the role of ten different materials in shaping BIG’s work.

Catherine Huang, partner at BIG, stated: "The museum reconciles Western and Eastern spatial traditions through a deliberate duality. From the sky, the museum reads like traditional craftwork: a series of papercut knots framing the gardens below, turning the heritage of Suzhou into artwork. But as one descends and enters the museum, the clarity of the figure ground dissolves. The gardens begin to flow into one another, unfolding as sequences of spaces, views, art, and nature - transforming a composition that appears precise from above into an experience of exploration and discovery on the ground."

 Lucy Nordberg

Tenderstream Head of Research

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