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Originally built as an electronics and munitions factory, the art center consists of two main halls situated side by side, totaling 65,000 square feet (6,000 square meters), with each hall measuring about 70 meters long and 24 meters wide (230 by 79 feet). One hall is devoted entirely to exhibit space, while the other includes a gift shop, auditorium, and cafe.

The massive volumes of the twin warehouses, each of which boasts 31-foot- (9.5-meter-) high ceilings, are ideal for showing monumentally scaled artworks. At the same time, the design is very flexible, with a series of partitions that can be easily moved to reconfigure the 27,000-square-foot (2,500-square-meter) main exhibition space. There is also a mezzanine and walkway encircling one of the warehouses, with glass treads that make the walkway seem to disappear.

The art center takes its name from Belgian benefactors Guy and Mimi Ullens. Guy Ullens has long been active in business in China. His father was a diplomat there, and his uncle served as Belgian Ambassador to China. "I had always been dreaming about China as a place of wonder," Ullens recalled during the center's opening press conference.

He and his wife now have a Chinese art collection numbered in the thousands. "Contemporary art is our passion," said Ullens, "and we feel compelled to show and share art with the world." UCCA is unique in China as a nonprofit organization supported by a private foundation.

Government officials were shocked when Guy Ullens, at Wilmotte's urging, sought to renovate the site's twin warehouses instead of razing them to build something new. Although China is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, the nation has a poor track record with architectural preservation. Today's Beijing has lost much of its historic architecture, the massive Forbidden City notwithstanding.

"When the culture minister told us, 'We'll give you our full support,' it was one of the best days of my life," Guy Ullens remembers.

Construction took 14 months over 2006 and 2007, with work being performed continuously by rotating staffs of construction workers who slept in a dormitory on site. The budget was only €5 million.

Wilmotte is known for several projects that similarly combined historic renovation and contemporary design, such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon, France, as well as an extensive remodeling of Lisbon's Chiado National Museum after it was severely damaged by fire in 1994. Wilmotte also designed a series of rooms devoted to primitive arts at the Louvre in Paris, and his firm worked on the massive restoration of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which will reopen in 2009.

His collaborator, Qingyun Ma, has also worked with Rem Koolhaas on the iconic China Central TV headquarters in Beijing. The founder of Shanghai-based MADA s.p.a.m., Ma also served as the Shenzhen curator for the inaugural Hong Kong-Shenzhen architecture biennale.

Recalling his first impression upon seeing the future Ullens Center, Wilmotte said, "It was an empty factory of raw concrete. Just a shell. So it was necessary to transform the building, but we wanted to leave its architectural identity intact."

Standing inside either of the two adjoining halls, it's easy to get a sense for this building's industrial past, from the concrete floors to the massive structural rafters. Wilmotte also preserved an antique boiler, which hangs just above the entrance as a reminder of the building's grittier past, as well as the original chimney, which rises 160 feet (49 meters) above the ground. "It's a sculpture," the architect says of the boiler, "and the chimney is a kind of symbol of this place."

At the same time, the design does not over-play its industrial aesthetic. The concrete support beams on the ceiling, for example, are painted white to better reflect and distribute light, as well as to somewhat disappear into the ceiling visually. "All the buildings in this area are concrete, and a lot of them end up competing with the art," Wilmotte said. "We wanted more smoothness. I think it's better for the art."

A key challenge in gallery design is to create an interior environment that protects the artworks from extreme temperatures and light damage while also making these spaces inviting for visitors.

UCCA's existing structure already provided good thermal regulation, with concrete floors and a double-skin exterior. There is also an existing series of clerestory windows that have been affixed with special new light-diffusing louvers guided by a GPS system that tracks the position of the sun.

While the building boom for the Olympics may be drawing more attention, one can hope the Ullens Center and its surrounding 798 art district will be equally significant markers of change in Beijing.   >>>

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Brian Libby is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance writer who has also published in The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Metropolis , and Architectural Record.

SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art stands at the center of the 798, a factory-complex-turned-arts-district in Beijing's Dashanzi district. Photo: Courtesy UCCA Extra Large Image Two large concrete warehouse spaces were converted into galleries and associated spaces for UCCA. Photo: Courtesy UCCA Extra Large Image Ullens Center for Contemporary Art cross-section drawing. Image: Jean-Michel Wilmotte UCCA longitudinal-section drawing. Image: Jean-Michel Wilmotte Movable partitions and diffuse clerestory lighting provide a high degree of flexibility in the UCCA exhibit space. Photo: Bruce Connolly The immense dimensions of the gallery volumes allow the Ullens Center to accommodate relatively large pieces of art. Photo: Courtesy UCCA Extra Large Image The buildings that house UCCA and the rest of the 798 Art District were built in the 1950s as a part of a government-run factory complex. Photo: Jen Currier Extra Large Image In one of the open spaces at UCCA, a large brick chimney was preserved. Photo: Courtesy UCCA Extra Large Image   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.