Comic Museum in Chinese Hangzhou by MVRDV

The urban planning authority of the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou has announced the victory of the Dutch studio MVRDV in the competition for the CCAM (China Comic and Animation Museum). Their design emerged victorious in an international competition against EMBT Arquitectes, Atelier Bow Wow, and Tsinghua Architecture.
The new home for Chinese cartoon heroes will consist of eight large abstract bubbles floating above the landscape like white airships. The building, covering an area of over 30,000 m², will offer not only exhibition spaces but also three cinema halls, theater spaces, a comic library, a representative entrance lobby, a café, a restaurant, and a variety of shops. The exhibition galleries will unfold in spirals. The form of inflated comic bubbles is intended not only to attract attention from the outside but primarily to offer a diverse and variable interior space that allows for the creation of various exhibitions. The façade made of fine white concrete is meant to resemble Chinese porcelain vases. Various information can also be projected onto the monochromatic façade, turning the museum into an interactive comic bubble. The façade design comes from Amsterdam graphic designers JongeMeesters. Construction of the museum, costing 92 million euros, is set to begin next year.