In China, architecture is ceasing to be a solitary monument and is becoming part of the urban fabric: museums are turning into gardens, opera houses into public promenades, and campuses into parks for research. This shift is especially visible in projects by BIG, Snøhetta and SOM, which are due to open in 2025–2026.
In Suzhou, the firm BIG is erecting a Museum of Contemporary Art by Jinji Lake. Twelve pavilions beneath a single roof inspired by traditional cornices form a system of courtyards and galleries. Curved glass facades reflect the water and the sky, while the interior spaces receive light through skylights — the building literally fits into the landscape rather than rising above it.
In Shanghai, Snøhetta is designing the Grand Opera House as a spiral roof that simultaneously serves as a public staircase. Three halls seating 2000, 1200 and 1000 are surrounded by a space where any city dweller can climb up and look out at the Huangpu River. The opera house ceases to be a closed temple of art and becomes an extension of the embankment.
In Suzhou, SOM is completing the Greenland Group center — a 284-thousand complex with a 30-story atrium that works as the building's "lungs." Aerodynamic facades reduce wind load, while a system of natural ventilation and energy recovery makes the project sustainable. Here offices, a hotel and apartments are united around a shared space rather than separated by blank walls.
What these projects share is a rejection of the former "icon-tower" model. Instead of dominating their surroundings, buildings now engage in a dialogue with them: they reflect the water, invite people to walk on the roof, and let air pass through the atriums. This approach responds both to climate challenges and to the demand for public spaces in dense megacities.
When a museum behaves like a garden and an opera house like a staircase down to the river, city dwellers begin to perceive these objects not as alien landmarks but as part of their everyday route. This is precisely where the main shift lies: architecture ceases to be a backdrop and becomes infrastructure for urban life.
