A construction contract has been agreed for the 70,000sq m (753,000sq ft) "Artists’ Garden" that will
encompass a new museum, marina and art studios in Qingdao, China.

Designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, the architecture firm behind Beijing’s new National Art Museum of China (NAMOC), this vast project will not only have a museum, hosting some of the NAMOC’s exhibitions, but also hotel rooms, restaurants and copious amounts of landscaped outdoor space.

The new scheme will be constructed along a 1km (0.62 mile) stretch, with the studios and buildings tobe built in small towers with views over the surrounding landscape. A covered promenade will run the length of the site and have the option of retractable transparent curtains to protect it from the elements.

Although this central promenade will offer access to the main buildings on the site, including the new museum, the sites existing marina will be doubled in size, acting as another point of entry to the Artists’ Garden.

Ateliers Jean Nouvel is working in collaboration with Shandong International Coastal Cultural Industry on the project. According to a statement, this working partnership has been in place for three years, allowing “the finishing touches to be made to the project, mixing education spaces, creative and research areas, exhibition halls and art market sections.”