Lehmann Maupin Gallery
The Pedder Building, site of the Lehmann Maupin Gallery in Hong Kong, is one of the few surviving pre-war structures in the center of the financial district. OMA’s design of the gallery reveals rather than conceals the patina that distinguishes the historic building from its more glossy neighbours.
The gallery is divided into two exhibition spaces. The newly constructed white walls of the main space are constructed around a central column and overhead beams – objects of time left in their found state. The second space can be joined with the main space or separated with a sliding wall, facilitating smaller exhibits and use as a private viewing room. Integrated ambient tubes and spot lights contrast with the raw quality of the exhibition spaces with polished concrete floors. The materials of the gallery emphasises neutrality. Plywood, polished concrete floor, and white surfaces serve as the backdrop for artworks.
The entrance of the gallery is a corner door that obscures the boundary between the interior and exterior while allowing the ingress of large art works. When both of the doors are open, the end of an otherwise narrow and compressed building corridor completely disappears and opens up the Lehmann Maupin Gallery to Hong Kong.
