In terms of importance, this is the most prestigious Chinese competition in recent decades. In the final, the jury preferred the gmp project to the variants of Norman Foster and KPF, and such serious competitors as Rem Koolhaas and Herzog & de Meuron were eliminated in the previous rounds.
The new complex will combine the former museums of the history of China (from antiquity to 1949) and the Chinese revolution (the history of the country since 1949). These two buildings stand opposite the building of the National People's Congress and are separated from each other by a courtyard. According to the gmp project, it will be covered with a roof, and it will become a "forum" that will highlight the public character of the museum.
Also, on the territory of the former courtyard, a new building will appear, connecting the history of China before and after the 1949 revolution. It will offer a view of the Imperial Palace and the Temple of Heaven, which will also make them "exhibits" of the museum complex. Under the "forum", an underground tier will be arranged, in which masterpieces of Chinese art will be exhibited, and through the holes in its floor it will be possible to see the archaeological excavations, from where some of the museum exhibits originate.
The area of the new complex will be up to 170,000 m2. It will be ready by 2007, and a permanent exhibition will be located there for the 2008 Olympics.
