Highly commended: Cultural building of the year 2019. UCCA Dune Art Museum in Qinhuangdao, China is a network of subterranean concrete galleries designed by Open Architecture.

The building, which took three years to complete, is carved into a dune on a beach in the coastal city in northeast China. The museum, which gently disappears beneath the sand, is an organic, cave-like concrete form. Through the project, the Beijing-based studio attempted to blur the boundaries between architecture, landscape, and art. Building the museum into the dune is also an attempt by the architecture to protect the fragile structure from encroaching real estate development.

Architect: Open Architecture
Project: UCCA Dune Art Museum
Highly commended for: Cultural building
Read more: Open Architecture