Behind the entrance area between the museums, visitors ascend to the main level by ramps and escalators and enter the “Plaza”, which serves as a point of departure for tours of the museums. From the Plaza the rooms for cultural events, a multi-functional hall, several auditoriums and a library can be accessed.

A silvery shining and softly deformed “Cloud” serves as a central orientation and access element on the Plaza. On several floors the Cloud hosts a number of public functions such as a café, a book store and a museum store and it joins the exhibitions rooms of both museums with bridges and ramps. With its curved surface the Cloud opens into the space reflecting the idea of two museums under one roof. 

The Urban Concept
 
The MOCAPE monolith completes the eastern part of the master plan for the city center and fills the last gap in the Futian Cultural District between the „Youth Activity Hall“ (YAH) to the north and the opera-library complex to the south.
Similar to other buildings in this district, the main level of the MOCAPE lies 10 meters above the ground level and so creates a stage-like platform, which acts as a unifying element with the adjacent buildings.
 

Skin, Light and Energy Concept
 
The exterior skin consists of an outer layer of natural stone louvers and the actual climate envelope made from insulated glass. These elements form a dynamic surface, which is structurally independent from the mounting framework of the museum buildings. This functional exterior envelops the two museums, a vertical access and entertainment element (Cloud), the public Plaza, and the multifunctional base.
 
The technical building equipment is designed to reduce the overall need of external energy sources: Pollution free systems and facilities use renewable energy sources through solar and geothermal energy (with a ground water cooling system) and only systems with high energy efficiency have been implemented. The roof of the museum filters daylight for the exhibition rooms, which reduces the need for artificial lighting.
 
With this combination of state of the art technological components, a compact building volume, thermal insulation and efficient sun shading the MOCAPE is not only an architectural landmark but also an ecological and environmentally friendly benchmark project.

MOCAPE PROJECT TEAM
 
Client: Shenzhen Municipal Culture Bureau, Shenzhen, China
Shenzhen Municipal Planning Bureau, Shenzhen, China
 
Planning: COOP HIMMELB(L)AU – Wolf D. Prix & Partner ZT GmbH
Design Principal: Wolf D. Prix
Project Partner: Markus Prossnigg
Design Architects: Quirin Krumbholz, Jörg Hugo, Mona Bayr
Project Architects: Angus Schoenberger, Veronika Janovska, Tyler Bornstein
Project Coordination: Xinyu Wan
Project Team: Jessie Castro, Jessie Chen, Jasmin Dieterle, Luis Ferreira, Peter Grell, Paul Hoszowsky, Dimitar Ivanov, Ivana Jug, Zhu Yuang Kang, Alexander Karaivanov, Nam La-Chi, Rodelle Lee, Feng Lei, Megan Lepp, Samuel Liew, Thomas Margaretha, Jens Mehlan, Ivo de Nooijer, Reinhard Platzl, Vincenzo Possenti, Pete Rose, Ana Santos, Jutta Schädler, Günther Weber, Chen Yue
Digital Project Team: Angus Schoenberger, Matt Kirkham, Jasmin Dieterle, Jonathan Asher, Jan Brosch
 
Local Architects: HSArchitects, Shenzhen, China
Structural Engineering: B+G Ingenieure, Bollinger und Grohmann GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany
Mechanical Engineering: Reinhold Bacher, Vienna, Austria
Lighting Design: AG Licht, Bonn, Germany
Cost Management: Davis Langdon & Seah, Hong Kong, China