CROX have created an organically shaped museum in Liyang, China, inspired by a musical instrument that is one of the city's cultural symbols and designed to give the appearance of floating on a grassy hill.

The Liyang Museum is located next to a lake within a public park in a new urban district of the city and is aimed at acting as a connection between the new urban area and nature.

Its above-ground volume covers an area of 12,000sq m (129,000sq ft) on top of the hill, with a further 7,000sq m (75,000sq ft) of underground space built into the hill.

The design references the Jiaoweiqin, seeking to convey the instrument's sound via the shape of the building and sharing the same deep colour of the instrument's wooden form.

In fact, the building's exterior is aluminium, while a glazed curtain wall built into the grassy hill conveys that the hill itself is a functional element of the design.

Wooden pathways, terraces and voids beneath the upper volume provide places for visitors to explore, while a plaza outside the museum at street-level provides public realm for the area.

Construction of the Liyang Museum was completed in September.