The Swellfun Museum is located in the Jinjiang District of Chengdu in the Chinese Province of Sichuan. The museum is on the original site of the ancient distillery where earth pits were used to distill and preserve the alcohol from daylight and humidity during the making and storage process.
Today it is a visitor attraction in the heart of the old city central area and is surrounded by bar streets and activity close to the river. The museum is today owned and operated by the Sichuan Swellfun Co. Ltd. that has continued the tradition and manufactures and sells a wide range of alcoholic products.
The liquor series products under the brand of Swellfun. The Company’s wine products include Swellfun Diancang Dashi Version, Swellfun Jingtai, Swellfun Zhenniang No. 8, Swellfun Yuanmingqing, Swellfun Jingcui, Swellfun Hongyun, Swellfun Meilanjuzhu, among others. The Company distributes its products within both domestic and overseas markets.
The current museum was built in around 2013, with new buildings planned around the original production hall, built in a similar style and scale and utilising materials that closely resembled the look and feel of the original architecture. The design proposal which extends to the 98 x 95 x 9m site is a renovation of existing buildings and museum and upgraded features which include an envelope roof coverage of the existing courtyard entrance area.
The introduction of steel framed elevated walkways above ancient archaeology with integrated visual technologies and lighting elements are coordinated within the existing building fabric contribute to the new visitor experience with additional upgrades of reception, exhibition, administration and cafe/ rest room areas.
The key spaces around the circulation of the main museum spaces include the following:
- Entrance courtyard and reception;
- Gallery spaces for the history of Baijiu production in Chengdu;
- The historical building containing new and heritage fermentation pits;
- The extension building containing exhibition spaces and new fermentation pits;
- Library and research areas;
- Storage and tasting rooms, marketing exhibition spaces;
- International exhibits and conference centre and museum shop;
- Offices and admin buildings are also contained in the Western annexes.
This proposal outlines the opportunities that lie within the existing building to re-organise the exhibition spaces, and rebuild the visitor experience to create a dramatic, interactive, unique and memorable exhibition space modernising and revitalising the museum and it’s archeology and contents.
2020
Sichuan Swellfun Co. Ltd.
10, 500 m²
Song Deng, Annie Feng, Angela Foo, Alan Gu, Andrew Kershaw, Daniel Statham, Kate Xie, Simon Xi, Chris Xu, Yang Zhou