Chinese firm Open Architecture will design an art gallery inside a sand dune on a beach along the coast of Bohai Bay in northern China.
The gallery will be a branch of Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art (UCCA) a Chinese contemporary art institution.
The UCCA Dune Art Museum will measure 930 sq m and will be almost fully covered by dunes.
Located on the Aranya Gold Coast, the development will have a "string of cell-like rooms" according to UCCA, including seven indoor and three outdoor galleries of different shapes and sizes made to look like caves, as well as a café and a reading room.
Visitors will be able to look out to the sea through apertures located throughout the building.
In 2019, a long causeway will be built to another, smaller gallery, which will be partially submerged in the ocean, reachable by foot during low tide.
The gallery’s inaugural exhibition is called "After Nature" and will show work by multiple artists, focusing on "the shifting relationship between humans and nature against the backdrop of China’s last three decades of breakneck development".
Philip Tinari, UCCA director, said: "UCCA is excited to move beyond its flagship location in Beijing with a permanent presence in this stunning building in a gorgeous natural setting.
"We look forward to working with great artists to show their work in this new context, and to offering our members and visitors the chance for an unforgettable art experience by the sea."
The Dune Art Museum is due to open later this year.
Images courtesy of Open Architecture
