Program in Architectural Design of Contemporary Art Museum Focusing on the Contemporary Art Museum Architectures Designed in Shanghai Central Area since 2010

Instead of focusing on design itself or design realization as practice or product, this research intends to focus on ‘the origin’ and ‘the formation’ of a design.

As for architectural design, it is the design of space. It involves a specification on the shape and dimensions of space, as well as defining the activities that may happen inside it. The latter process contains a definition on what activities there are, including the requirements and demands proposed by these activities that the space should meet, and the sequence in which they occur, which refers to define the program of space. Program is a basis for architectural design. And as it also needs to be designed, program is generated on the basis of some relevant factors, namely, the identity and corresponding responsibilities of space itself (as contemporary art museum in this research), the demands of related stakeholders, and the architect's own intention.

This research takes ‘program’ as the starting point and explores the formation and origin of program design in architectural design, thus exploring how these factors influence the design of program as well as take a further influence on the design of architecture. The research would start with an analysis of eight architectural designs of contemporary art museum in Shanghai central area, giving a specific focus on the drawings of architectural plans, which are the materialized manifestations of space designs. Based on these drawings, it would be possible to generate the designed spaces, trace back the programs and map the program designs. The characteristics and formation reasons for these program designs will be highlighted, and basic dispositions of program designs will be deduced and summarized. Combined with possible future changes in influencing factors and taking the basis of these dispositions, a design guideline would be proposed as a conclusion for future program designs in contemporary art museums, allowing for multiple forms of future use and appropriation.