MAD Architects, Led by Ma Yansong, has just revealed its design for the Danshuis, dutch for The Dance House. The project will transform the riverfront Provimi warehouse into a cultural destination in Rotterdam. The Danshuis initiative seeks to convert the old warehouse into a vibrant multi-use studio based on movement and performing arts, a vibrant place to exchange world dance culture. The Droom en Daad Foundation, the primary client of the project, hopes to place Rotterdam on the map as a world leader in arts and culture.
The project is designed to house professional dance studios, theaters, and exhibition spaces. With this kind of infrastructure, The Danshuis will push the cultural fabric of the entire city. The old warehouse skeleton and structure have been preserved, but MAD Architects have added a variety of recognizable design interventions, emphasizing the desire for freedom and pluralism. Most noticeably, Ma Yansong created a yellow seagull sculpture paired with red neon signs on the planted terrace of Danshuis’ second story, which faces the river.
Additionally, in a homage to Ancient Greek gathering places that encourage the public to come together over a shared love of the arts, MAD created an open-air semi-circular theatre in the middle of the site, on the top floor. The classical architecture of this performance venue, with a backdrop of the Mas River Rotterdam, contrasts the modern elements in the rest of the design.
Dance is a flowing art of space. To emphasize that and respect the locality and history of the building, we decided to make minimum changes to the original structure, just to add art installations in conversation with the environment, with this second commission from Droom en Daad Foundation, we hope to highlight Rotterdam's yearning for freedom and embracing of diverse global cultures. The Fenix Museum of Migration and the Danshuis are closely linked and will look to the future together in Rotterdam's century-old port. -- Ma Yansong.
In the Danshuis, people will feel the outdoors from within. The space will flow with dance and music without strict borders between public and private. Furthermore, it will create an exchange between watching and being watched. The studio emphasizes the importance of this project becoming a representation of the free transmission of art through tangible and intangible forms. In fact, The Fenix Museum of Migration, MAD’s first European social project, is adjacent to the Danshuis. Both initiatives will improve the city’s ties to its cultural community.
MAD Architects, founded in 2004 in China, is run by Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, and Yosuke Hayano. The firm is dedicated to creating cutting-edge, organic, and futuristic designs that embody a modern interpretation of Eastern awe for nature. This month, MAD Architects were chosen as a winner of the 2023 ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards. The award was given to the studio for the completed Quzhou Stadium, a 700,000 sqm sports park in the Zhejiang province. Additionally, the design firm has just revealed the design of the Changchun “Longjia” International Airport Terminal 3 in China, which is planned to accommodate 22 million passengers per year.
