Digital Book of Landscapes 2020

Article

Red Brick Museum, Beijing, China

Lin Yuhang
Leeds studio

One of my favourite designs is the Red Brick Museum in Beijing, it’s not only a place for exhibiting artworks but an artwork in itself. The courtyard was derived from Chinese traditional garden style, combined with a contemporary landscape design aesthetic.

The courtyard uses brick as its main material to keep coherency with the adjacent buildings. The brickwork has been employed in a range of ways to bring delicate patterns to the place.

Materials, geometry and seasonal changes are all brought together in a distinctive and elegant way. I love the alleyway and the layers of circular thresholds which frame views and bring a strong sense of space and place, the vertical trees soften the walls and emphasise the seasons. The brick structures with geometrical windows frame key views and offer short glimpses of the next journey. There are many interesting elements, such as the half circle bridge supports which bring their reflections on the lake, the cascading playful landforms, the sculptural trees stretching from a skylight and the way the whole design manipulates light and shadow, all these things inspired me and prove that landscape design can be interactive, expressive and dynamic.