The Guardian Art Center, built by Büro Ole Scheeren in Beijing, combines an auction house, gallery, restaurants and a hotel.

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Forbidden city for centuries designated the center of Beijing. Now, just two blocks to the east, the glittering new building of architects Büro Ole Scheeren takes on the mission of the core of China’s artistic life.

The Guardian Art Center was commissioned by the China Guardian Auctions, the world's fourth largest auction house. In addition to specialized auction areas, the center includes an exhibition hall, restaurants, offices, parking, the transition to the new metro station and the luxurious Ritzy PuXuan Hotel and Spa, which will open in spring 2018.

“I think the Guardian Art Center in its own way recognizes the hybrid nature of the modern cultural environment,” said Ole Sheren. “This is manifested by the inclusion of a number of interconnected spaces in the flexible program of the building.”

Sheren compares the building with the "Chinese puzzle." Complex software needs were not the only task. At first, Sheren had to defeat the strict urban planners, who rejected about 30 different proposals. In order to obtain a building permit, the architect had to build subtle contextual relationships with a historically significant area: traditional hutunas on the one hand, and bulky commercial architecture on the other.

An eight-level multi-layer structure made up of blocks is adjacent to government buildings, the National Art Museum and Beijing's most popular shopping street, Wangfujing. Its lower part, made of perforated gray basalt, corresponds to the surrounding hutunas, and the cantilever glass box (upper volume) - a nod in the direction of the growing international influence.