Birdview. Image © Yao li

鸟瞰。图像(姚力)

架构师提供的文本描述。日本帝国陆军第731号废墟部队曾驻守的地方，其独特之处不仅在于它作为一个历史遗址的作用。它的特殊性已经由破碎的墙壁，静谧肃穆的砾石地面，延伸到无限的栏杆，以及周围荒凉的高大榆树，在建筑师有时间评估这种组合的和谐之前就已经被定义了。

Text description provided by the architects. The place where the ruins Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army used to station is particular not just for its role as a historical site. Its particularity is already defined by the broken walls, silent and solemn gravel ground, rails extending to infinity, and the desolate lofty elms surrounding it, before the architect has time to assess the harmony of such combination. 

 View from railway. Image © Yao li

从铁路上看。图像(姚力)

为了减轻新建筑体积对场地造成的压制，主要展示空间沉入地下。一个破裂的黑匣子倾斜在倒塌的场地上，使它的炭灰色屋顶成为广场地面的延伸。“倾斜”不仅体现了设计的规模，也反映了设计的态度。从办公大楼前的广场往东看，展览馆的地形看起来有点起伏，与其说是人造几何学，不如说是自然的地球景观。裂缝在黑匣子的形状、颜色和材料上产生了微妙的变化，这反过来又有助于建筑物融入环境。

To relieve the repression caused by new building volume upon the site, main display spaces are sunk into the ground. A cracked Black Box tilts on the collapsed site, making its charcoal grey roof an extension of the square ground. The “tilt” shows not only the scale but also the attitude of design. Viewing from the square in front of the office building into the east, the exhibition hall seems like a slight fluctuation in the terrain, more of a natural earth-scape than an artificial geometry. The crack creates subtle variations in form, color and material of the Black Box, which in turn help merge the building into the environment. 

这个比喻-“黑匣子”-黑匣子是由建筑师专门为建筑物设想的。它代表着一个真相记录容器，一旦被打开，它将披露所有真相。(鼓掌)

The Metaphor - “Black Box” The Black Box is conceived by the architect specifically for the building. It represents a truth-recording container, which will disclose all the truth once being opened.  

 Square entrance. Image © Yao li

正方形入口。图像(姚力)

黑匣子在场地上崩塌、下沉、崩塌，留下了一个永恒的“伤疤”，仿佛这块土地被一把锋利的手术刀切开了一样。这一系列简单的行为在创造交流和对话空间的同时，建立了内部与外部的建筑联系。在这里，建筑作为一个客观的容器，让游客感知和解释历史事件和建筑的含义。

The Black Box collapses, sinks, and falls apart on the site, leaving an eternal “scar” as if the land is incised by a sharp scalpel. These series of simple acts establish interior-exterior building connection while creating a communicative and dialogic space. Here the building serves as an objective container for visitors to perceive and interpret the historical event and the implication of the architecture.

 Sunken courtyard. Image © Yao li

凹陷的庭院。图像(姚力)

侵略中国的日本帝国陆军第731部队成立于1933年，他们犯下了包括细菌战和人体试验在内的战争罪。在1945年8月日本投降之前，731部队在逃离之前轰炸并摧毁了大部分建筑物，留下了今天的废墟。

Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army that invaded China was established in 1933 and they committed war crimes including bacteriologic warfare and human experimentation. Prior to the Japanese surrender in August 1945, Unit 731 bombed and destroyed a large portion of buildings before fleeing, leaving ruins as it is today.

731号机组的基地建在机场附近，周围是一大片土地，现在已变成繁华的市中心。这决定了站点与其周围环境之间的关系是连接的和断开的。

The base for Unit 731 was built near an airport and surrounded by a large expanse of land which now has been turned into bustling downtown. This determines the relationship between the site and its surroundings to be both connected and disconnected.

 View from north. Image © Yao li

从北看。图像(姚力)

我们的设计方法从一个问题开始：“周围都是熙熙攘攘的城市环境，如何才能将安静的环境与场地分开？”

Our design approach begins with a question: “With a bustling urban environment around, how could quiet environment be separated from the site?”

这是我们的总体设计考虑。我们希望用所需的气氛重新创建原始(空)环境。

That is an overall design consideration we had. We hoped to recreate the original (empty) environment with the desired atmosphere.

 View from south yard. Image © Yao li

从南院看。图像(姚力)

在设计之前，我们参观了这个地点，注意到该建筑目前所在的地方是唯一没有历史遗迹的地方。这意味着在这个位置建造的建筑物不会造成任何损害，相反，它将与原来的入口和命令建立有利的对立面。巧合的是，这片空地坐落在路边，所以展览厅既可以单独参观，也可以与废墟一起构成整个参观序列的一部分。

We visited the site prior to the design, noticing that the place where the building is currently located is the only location free from the historical ruins. This means building built at this location would not cause any damage; instead, it will establish favorable contraposition with the original entrance and the command. Coincidently, this vacant lot sits by the road, so the exhibition hall can either be visited separately or form a part of the entire visiting sequence together with the ruins.

 Long Section

长剖面

 Cross Section

在工地的西侧，一条从南到北贯穿工地的铁路仍在运营中。我们在设计上的首要考虑是如何与铁路以外的废墟建立更紧密的联系，同时尽量避免破坏原有的环境。在我们的总体规划中，我们首先修复了以前的道路网络，然后用混凝土和夯实的泥土取代了由阿多巴和铁丝网组成的围墙。除废墟外，还采用灰色砾石路面，明确了废墟与周围环境的关系。

On the west side of the site, a railway that cuts through the site from south to north is still in service. Our first consideration in design was how to establish a closer connection with the ruins beyond the railway, at the same time trying not to damage the original context. In our master plan, first we reinstated the previous road network, then replaced the enclosing wall made of adobes and wire net with concrete and tamped earth. Except for the ruins, we used grey color gravel for pavement to clearly define the relationship between the ruins and its surroundings.

 View from north. Image © Yao li

从北看。图像(姚力)

最后，我们在场地东侧设计了一个街道公园。公园是站点和城市之间的过渡，而沿街的围墙也可以部分过滤外面的噪音。根据规律，在入口处设置围堵墙是不合适的，因此我们设计了一个凹陷的广场来遮挡外界的干扰，希望能创造出一个相对平静的物理空间。毕竟，我们希望游客能在这样的地方克制一下自己的精神状态。

Finally, we designed a street park on the east side of the site. The park serves as a transition between the site and the city, while the enclosing wall along the street is also able to partially filter the noisy outside. According to the regularity, it is inappropriate to build an enclosing wall at the entrance to the site, so we designed a sunken plaza to shield the external disturbance, in the hope of creating a relatively tranquil physical space. After all, we hope the visitors may restrain their mind state a little in such a place.

 Birdview. Image © Yao li

鸟瞰。图像(姚力)

设计故事“黑匣子”的概念基本上是揭露731部队犯下的罪行。这起事件在东京审判期间没有曝光，此后，暴行逐渐为人们所知。这个过程就像在空难后找到黑匣子并恢复事故一样。因此，我们希望从一开始就把“黑匣子”这个概念作为一个容器，逐步向人们揭示尘埃落定的故事，揭露日本的反人类罪。

Design stories The concept of “Black Box” is basically an unearthing of the crimes committed by Unit 731. The incident was not exposed during the Tokyo Trial, and the atrocities came to people’s knowledge gradually afterwards. The process is like finding the black box and restoring the accident after an air crash. So we hoped to use the concept of “Black Box” as a container from the beginning, and gradually unfold the dusty and hidden story to people and expose the Japanese crimes against humanity. 

 Meditation atrium. Image © Yao li

冥想中庭。图像(姚力)

从设计的角度来看，我们采用了一种重新设计的方法，它涉及简洁而有力的形式，而不是任何夸张的设计。我们试图表达的不是愤怒的心态，相反，我们希望从人类文明的角度来看待整个问题。

From the design perspective, we employed a refrained approach which involves concise yet power form instead of any exaggerating design. What we tried to express is not an angry mindset, instead, we hope to look at the whole issue from the standpoint of human civilization.  

 Ground Floor Plan

面临挑战：建设四个冬季月是我们最大的挑战。该博物馆于2014年9月开工，预计将于明年8月开放(2015年8月15日是抗日战争和世界反法西斯战争胜利70周年)。然而，有四个冬天不得不暂停建设。此外，我们不得不留出三个月的时间来安排展览。在整个施工过程中，我们在时间分配上做出了很大的努力，以保证每个时间节点的满足。因此，我们使用钢结构，以便我们可以同时制造和安装。

Facing Challenge: construction undergoing for four winter months Time was our greatest challenge. The construction was commenced in September 2014, and the museum was scheduled to open in the coming August (August 15th 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the victories for Anti-Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-fascism War). However, there were four winter months when construction had to be suspended. Besides, we had to put aside three months for the exhibition setup. During the entire construction process, we exert great efforts on time allocation to ensure every time node was met. So we used steel structures so that we could fabricate and install at the same time.

 Birdview. Image © Yao li

鸟瞰。图像(姚力)

我们匆匆忙忙地赶在11月之前完成地下室的工作。当冬天来临时，施工团队甚至建立了一个内部加热的棚屋，以确保工程在冬季取得进展，这是很平常的事。

We rushed to complete the basement before November ahead of the schedule. When winter came, the construction team even set up an internally heated shed to ensure the works progress in winter, which was quite usual. 

 Bird view from north ruins. Image Courtesy of Architectural Design & Research Institute of SCUT

从北部废墟鸟瞰。建筑设计中的形象礼貌

因此，在项目的施工方法和时间节点上进行协作是非常重要的。同时，我们必须用我们的经验来弥补设计周期的不足。经过精细化的跨学科合作，工程建设顺利完成。

Thus, the collaboration on construction method and time nodes for the project was extremely important. At the same time, we had to make up for inadequate design period with our experiences. Thanks to the elaborate interdisciplinary cooperation, the construction was smoothly completed. 

 View from east. Image © Yao li

从东边看。图像(姚力)

Architects Architectural Design & Research Institute of SCUT

Location Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China

Category Museums & Exhibit

Principal Architect He Jingtang

Project Year 2015