Dialogue by the Sea

On a quiet stretch of beach along the coast of Bohai Bay in northern China, OPEN designed two art spaces: one hidden in the sand dunes, like mysterious caves; one rising out of the sea, like a solitary piece of rock. A long walkway stretching in between connects the sand and the sea, the art and the people. The two spaces create a silent dialogue by the sea.

Dune Art Space
Inspired by kids’ tireless digging in the sand, this art space is carved in the dunes. “Digging” creates a series of connected soft spaces, much like caves, the primal form of human inhabitance and the earliest site of man’s artistic creation. When the building structure is completed, sand will be put back in between and on top of the “art cells”, and dune’s original state will be restored including the local sand-stabilizing shrubs. Except for the skylights, openings and a viewing platform that appear floating in the sands, the building will quietly disappear in the dunes by the sea.

Sea Art Space
The Sea Art Space exhibits only one piece of art at a given time, and accommodates a hidden studio as artists’ retreat. The path that links the “rock” to the shore is a path for the pilgrimage of art. This path is only revealed at certain times, with the right tide and in the right moment. At high tide, the space can only be accessed by boats.