Guardian Art Center: China’s Oldest Auction House Finds a Worthy Home in Ole Scheeren’s Latest Creation

Credited as being the first auction house to arise out of modern China, China Guardian’s new Büro Ole Scheeren custom-built headquarters in the heart of Beijing serves as an understated emblem of its growing stature at home and abroad. Located across from the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC), Scheeren’s two-volume glass and granite Guardian Art Center stands assured in its cultural understanding and makes for a worthy hub of exchange for some of China’s finest classical artworks.

As anyone who has walked a block in the capital knows, the city has in modern times favored utility over distinct aesthetics, a stance again renewed by president Xi Jinping’s attack on “weird buildings” in 2014 which went as far as to single out Scheeren’s striking and now decade-old CCTV Headquarters. To that end, the Guardian Art Center makes a conscious effort to incorporate design elements from Chinese art within the greater context of its surroundings.

The 14-story structure is deceptively compact and is divided by its two principal applications: a venue for the appreciation and sale of art, and a lifestyle center. The lower pixelated volume is comprised of the Guardian’s auction house, offices, and exhibition spaces, and its facade draws from its proximity – the low-lying hutongs – mirroring the gray hue, height-for-height scale, and earthy finish of Beijing’s antiquated but rapidly changing dwellings.

However, the center’s most distinct feature is its commanding upper volume, a suspended monolithic square ring of interlocking brick-like reflective glass panes that encircles the hotel’s inner courtyard. A single corridor connects the 120 boutique hotel rooms, and a number of restaurants and bars, affording views of the nearby Forbidden City and outer-lying mountains. As indicative of Guardian China’s clout, guests will also soon enjoy direct subway access to the complex via the yet-to-be-opened NAMOC stop.

With recent news of a collaboration between London’s Serpentine Gallery and Jiakun Architects to construct a pavilion in Beijing’s downtown Wangfujing, 2018 is proving an exciting time for art and architecture in the city. As an innovative example of a cultural institution yet to grace Beijing’s controlled structural landscape, the Guardian Art Center serves as a worthy monument to China’s growing influence in the art world. What’s more, the center also serves a reminder of what modern architecture can achieve when it successfully navigates the mercurial design of Chinese politics.

Guardian Art Center
Daily 10am-6pm. 1 Wangfujing Street, Dongcheng District
嘉德艺术中心：东城区王府井大街1号

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Photos courtesy of Büro Ole Scheeren