Hong Kong Palace Museum
A celebration of Chinese arts and culture
Image © Hong Kong Palace Museum, 香港故宮文化博物館
Hong Kong
2022
Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District is a huge area dedicated to cultural initiatives and is famously where M+, Asia's largest contemporary art museum, opened in November 2021. The latest addition to the district’s growing cache of cultural destinations is the Hong Kong Palace Museum, a permanent attraction dedicated to studying and appreciating the history of Chinese arts and culture.
Units
260
There, visitors can explore a rich collection comprising more than 900 objects spanning around 5,000 years of cultural history. Many items are on long-term loan from the Palace Museum in Beijing, as well as collections donated by private benefactors. Some 166 objects are officially classified as national treasures by the Chinese government, and a number of artefacts have never been publicly displayed in Hong Kong until now. The Palace Museum is also focused on sharing important art objects from other cultures around the world, via a changing array of loan objects from partner institutions and a program of temporary exhibitions.
The new Museum building was designed by architects Rocco Design; construction began in 2019 and the doors opened to the public in July 2022. The inauguration was timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Mainland China following the end of British colonial rule there.
Inside, visitors can explore the Museum’s exhibits arranged across nine galleries, each dedicated to a specific theme and characterized by an evocative scenic layout, evoking, for example, the architecture of Beijing's Forbidden City. Visitors can admire beautiful displays of paintings, calligraphy, rare books, ceramics, jade, jewelry, textiles and clothing.
Gallery 2
From Dawn to Dusk: Life in the Forbidden City
Image © Hong Kong Palace Museum, 香港故宮文化博物館
Gallery 2
From Dawn to Dusk: Life in the Forbidden City
Image © Hong Kong Palace Museum, 香港故宮文化博物館
Goppion has created 260 showcases for these precious exhibits: 206 are vertical freestanding cases of different sizes, all with square and rectangular bases, and 51 are horizontal freestanding or modular tabletop designs, with an additional three vertical wall-mounted examples. The project brief required all showcases to be of a neutral design and of the same color, which would allow seamless incorporation into the various scenic and display structures throughout the galleries, such as panels, wall hangings and wall partitions.
Goppion produced the showcases in two batches: the first from October 2020 to July 2021 and the second batch between November 2021 and April 2022. The initial challenge was the sheer number of showcases required in a limited time frame. Fortunately, especially for the first batch, large-scale serial production and assembly was made possible by the request for many showcases to be built to the same specifications.
Nonetheless, high performance was required from all showcases, and each one had to pass stringent leak tests conducted by a laboratory. Goppion ensured that fundamental design elements met the very high performance criteria expected for preservation (such as sealing, non-off gassing materials, internal filters, active RH control), and also security, with locks for both technical compartments and exhibition space. Good visibility for visitors was another key consideration, met by use of special high-performance glass, providing both high transparency and low reflection.
Goppion’s showcases are also characterized by design features such as internal recirculating air filter systems and 120° opening doors, or with either P&S 80% sliding access or glass bell lifting by actuators. Lighting is delivered primarily by perimeter magnetic mini LED spotlights.
Combined, these qualities have delivered a suite of showcases that protect, conserve and allow unrivalled visitor access to some of China’s most precious artworks.
Gallery 6
Private to Public: The History of Chinese Art Collecting in Hong Kong
Image © Hong Kong Palace Museum, 香港故宮文化博物館
Gallery 9
Grand Gallop: Art and Culture
of the Horse
Image © Hong Kong Palace Museum, 香港故宮文化博物館
