The Culture and Art Centre of Qingdao will occupy an 18-hectare site to the north of Jiaozhou Bay, creating a complex of museums dedicated to classic art, modern art, public art and performing arts.
Steven Holl's plan features a snaking tunnel structure designed to reference the form of the nearby Jiaozhou Bay Bridge - the world's longest bridge over water. This "light loop" will connect the four museums, accommodating a trail of galleries inside.
"The project starts with a very unique connection to Qingdao and the idea of actually connecting to the morphology of the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge," says Holl in a movie accompanying the competition entry. "It inspires the possibility of this whole project to become related to that linear idea."
Three of the museums will comprise cube-shaped structures positioned at intervals along the route, while the fourth will be positioned around a public square at the centre of the complex.