Pingtan Art Museum, a spectacular floating cultural island designed by Beijing-based innovators MAD Architects, has entered the construction phase in China’s Fujian province.

Pingtan is the largest island in the region and has been designated by the government as a primary location for cultural and tourism development.

The museum has been in development since 2011 and will be the cultural centrepiece of the zone. It will float in waters just off Pingtan Island, connecting to the mainland by an undulating pier.

MAD have envisioned the development as a mountainous island whose rising dunes and caves house the museum’s galleries.

“The island is firstly a public space that is then turned into a museum,” said the studio in a statement. “The sea, the beach, the oasis and the slope all interconnect with each other, forming a harmonious capacious space with the mountains in the distance.”

To continue the natural theme, the building is being constructed with concrete blended with local sand shells.

The project is estimated to cost around ¥800m (US$121.6m, €107m, £71.8m) and could be completed as soon as this year. When open, it will reportedly become the largest privately-owned museum in Asia, covering a construction area of over 40,000sq m (430,500sq ft). Its debut exhibition will display over a thousand historic and artistic national artefacts.

“The project bridges artificial and natural, city and culture, as well as history and future,” said the architects. “After its completion, it will create a new space for the city and the city’s inhabitants and further inspire them to reflect on the impact made by time and nature.”

MAD Architects have developed a reputation for their sinuous designs which often take their inspiration from nature and geology. The studio recently completed work on the Harbin Opera House, a cultural venue whose curved walls appear to have been sculpted by the wind by the surrounding Songhua River.