In Shenzhen’s Nanshan district, a new museum is being developed to align cultural infrastructure with the city’s technology-driven growth. Designed by international architecture practice Büro Ole Scheeren for Tenova Future, the Róng Museum of Art reflects a shift in how private capital, particularly from the technology sector, is beginning to engage with public life and the urban environment.
Commissioned by the founder of Tencent, the project sits within a wider conversation about the responsibilities of large technology companies in shaping not only economies but also cultural institutions. The museum is conceived not as an isolated building, but as part of a larger urban and social framework.
From tech capital to cultural infrastructure
Named after the Chinese idea of ‘symbiosis’ and ‘integration’, the Róng Museum of Art is intended to focus on visual culture of the 20th and 21st centuries, including art, design, architecture and film. Its programme reflects a growing interest among technology-led enterprises in contributing to cultural production and public engagement.
Nanshan district operates at a scale comparable to that of smaller nations, while Shenzhen continues to grow as a centre of innovation. The museum introduces a different kind of presence, engaging with memory, learning and public life.
The building brings together a range of uses beyond exhibition. Alongside its galleries, it includes a public art library, workshops, lecture and screening spaces, as well as retail and dining. These elements encourage use throughout the day rather than limiting activity to scheduled visits.
Recasting the museum as urban space
The project redefines how a museum meets the ground. The main body of the building is lifted on five slender, sculptural supports, allowing the space below to remain open. This creates a covered public plaza that is naturally ventilated and accessible at all hours.
Conceived as an “art forum”, this ground-level space is designed for movement as much as gathering. Visitors can pass through it as part of their daily routes, encountering installations, events or simply the presence of the building itself. A large skylight brings daylight into the sheltered area, softening the transition between inside and outside.
Above, the galleries are arranged as a series of connected volumes that allow for flexible exhibition formats, including a double-height space for larger works. A continuous stair traces the outer edge of the building and leads to a rooftop garden, which extends the landscape of the surrounding Houhai Hybrid Campus. This wider development, also designed by Ole Scheeren, combines residential, office, retail and hospitality uses within a single urban setting.
The scheme builds direct connections to the surrounding city. Elevated walkways link the museum to nearby buildings and the waterfront park, while access from the metro network brings visitors directly into the plaza from below.
An architectural language shaped by light and ecology
The building’s external form is defined by a series of stepped, cone-shaped volumes wrapped in a layer of suspended glass tubes. This outer skin filters light rather than allowing direct transparency, creating a surface that shifts with changing conditions.
The façade also plays a role in the building’s environmental performance. The glass tubes provide shading and support natural ventilation, while the roof form allows rainwater to be collected and reused on site, in line with Shenzhen’s wider approach to water management.
At night, the façade can be illuminated in controlled sequences, allowing the building to register as a shifting presence within the skyline.
Set to open in 2027, the Róng Museum of Art points to a shift in how cities such as Shenzhen are pairing economic growth with long-term cultural investment.
