Büro Ziyu Zhuang's UFO-shaped Prairie Ark gallery lands in Inner Mongolia

Chinese architecture studio Büro Ziyu Zhuang has completed Prairie Ark, a public gallery shaped like a flying saucer on the Ulanqab Grassland in Inner Mongolia, 160 kilometers west of Beijing. The UFO-like structure sits on the shores of Laoli Lake and is accompanied by a viewing tower called Nomads' Beacon Tower. The gallery's sloping roof merges with the terrain, allowing visitors to walk from the grassland onto the terraced roof and enter through an opening. Inside, a layered grid ceiling with skylights floods the open-plan ground floor with natural light. The space hosts art exhibitions, conferences, brand events, and community gatherings. Founder Ziyu Zhuang described the entrance as a 'natural incision of the site' rather than a deliberate boundary, evoking the spaceship in the movie Prometheus. The Nomads' Beacon Tower, inspired by rising beacon smoke and Great Wall towers, offers panoramic views of the lake and grassland. Its only access route submerges under the lake in summer, turning it into a solitary monument. The 1,360-square-meter project was supported by Hyundai Motor China and the China Foundation for Rural Development. Photography is by Shengliang Su.