Human contact. We haven’t lacked it since the time of the pandemic. And yet, who hasn’t dreamed of a museum entirely emptied of visitors, so as to make the most, a little selfishly, of incredible works of art and places?
An unmentionable little whim made possible by the architecture and design studio Wutopia Lab, in the coastal city of Qinhuangdao, eastern China, nestled in Seatopia Park. Opened in July 2022, the Monologue Art Museum, a meditation space, spans 3,600 square meters across a triangular shape. The building is divided into several monoliths, combined with walls, corridors, and ambiguous spaces. The complex houses an art gallery in the main steel triangle. At its heart is a courtyard with a pool, accessible via a winding path. Within the center is a dance studio contained in a rectangle-shaped module, a yoga studio in a circle, and a theatre in a similarly round shape. Multifunctional, the Monologue Art Museum allows different people to be in different spaces at the same time, while enjoying the benefits of solitude. A meditative atmosphere generated and reinforced by the distribution of natural light. A small paradise, which pays tribute to beauty, while reminding us of the sometimes-forgotten value of this solo time, necessary for our well-being.
Lisa Agostini