A unique new art gallery that is buried in a sand dune is close to completing construction on the coast of Bohai Bay in northern China.

Spanning a total area of 10,000 sqf (930sq m), the museum will accommodate a number of galleries of varying size, multiple studios and a café when it opens later this year.

Operated by Chinese contemporary art institution UCCA in partnership with museum architects OPEN Architecture, the museum will be covered with sand and the original dune that has been excavated, and the shrubs that stabilise it, will be restored once completed.

Exhibitions will be designed by the two organisations to reflect the distinctive building and its sandy, natural surroundings.

The largest multifunctional gallery in the space will be lit up by a large skylight, while a spiral staircase will lead to a lookout point on top of the sand dune from the inside the cavernous museum.

Other galleries will be interconnected by a series of tunnels, adding to the chambered feel of the museum.

The Dune Art Museum is part of a wider museum project by OPEN Architecture called ‘Dialogue by the Sea’. It will also feature the as-yet-unbuilt Sea Art Museum, which will be constructed offshore. Both museums will be joined together by a narrow passage, which will only be accessible at low tide, once finished.