Global architecture firm Büro Ole Scheeren has completed the Guardian Art Center, the world’s first custom-built auction house in Beijing. The building is a mixed-use development that houses a hotel, galleries, restaurants, and events spaces. “The Guardian Art Center is a lot more than just a museum,” said Ole Scheeren in a statement. “It’s not a hermetic institution, but rather an acknowledgment of the hybrid state of contemporary culture.”

Built near the Forbidden City and the National Art Museum of China, the building is a modern-day counterpoint to the surrounding traditional Chinese architecture. Still, the center pays tribute to China’s rich architectural past. The structure’s lower portion is made up of nested stone volumes, a nod to the classic courtyard houses found throughout Beijing. The façade is perforated with a pattern of circular openings, which, when seen from afar, creates the illusion of a mountain that was inspired by a Chinese landscape painting by 14^th-century artist Huang Gongwang. The firm wanted to make sure the building reflected a “Chinese identity,” said Scheeren, whose notable projects include the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing, while a partner at OMA.