Foster + Partners has just unveiled the designs for the Xicen Science & Technology Center at the heart of the Yangtze River Delta Region in Shanghai, China. The project is strategically located along the Shanghai – Huzhou development axis, ensuring connectivity to the city center through high-speed rail links. Drawing inspiration from the timeless allure of the surrounding water towns, the center blends new and existing waterways to create a community featuring residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.
Theater: The Latest Architecture and News
Foster + Partners Unveils Xicen Science & Technology Center in Shanghai, China
Architecture Classics: General San Martín Municipal Theater / Mario Roberto Álvarez, Macedonio Oscar Ruiz
On Avenida Corrientes, the Teatro Municipal General San Martín (TGSM) rises between party walls in the heart of downtown Buenos Aires. Designed by Mario Roberto Álvarez and Macedonio Oscar Ruiz in 1954, this building comes to address an artistic and cultural issue common to the large cities of America. It stands as one of Argentina's most important theaters, providing spaces for theatrical and cinematic performances as well as art exhibitions. Spanning 30,000 square meters, it constitutes a theater complex alongside the General San Martín Cultural Center, operating independently.
Snøhetta Unveils Design of New Opera House in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
Snøhetta has revealed the design of a new opera house to be added to the historic area of Diriyah in Saudi Arabia. The proposal strives to blend the local cultural heritage and Najdi building traditions with the contemporary requirements of an international music and performing arts venue. Scheduled to open in 2028, the Royal Diriyah Opera House anchors a wider master plan to redevelop the Diriyah area on the outskirts of Riyadh, aiming to transform it into a cultural destination.
Studio Gang Unveils Design for a Low-Carbon Theater for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in the United States
Studio Gang has revealed the design for a new theater for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF). Planned to become the first purpose-built LEED Platinum theater in the United States, the building located in Garrison, NY, will serve as the permanent home for HVSF. The structure, measuring over 13,800 square feet, or 1,280 square meters, is designed to become the central point of the 98-acre HVSF campus, aiming to emphasize the theater company’s commitment to sustainable principles and social engagement. The project is expected to break ground in 2024.
Tadao Ando Reveals Designs for New Performing Arts Center in Sharjah, UAE
Tadao Ando has revealed the designs for a new performing arts center in Sharjah’s Aljada. “II Teatro” is a 2000-seat auditorium with a gallery and an event space and will serve as a focal point within the Aljada master plan. Dedicated to art, culture, and design, the Naseej district will house the theater with a multi-layered cultural plaza. In collaboration with local developer Arada, The scheme is expected to be completed in 2027, acting as a true reflection of Tadao Ando’s architectural simplicity.
Zaha Hadid Architects Wins Competition for the Design of a New Cultural District in Sanya, China
The city of Sanya in Hainan, China, has selected Zaha Hadid Architects as the winner of the competition for the design of the city’s new harborside cultural district. The new development, measuring a total of 409,000 square meters of built area, aims to become a central location for Sanya’s cultural life, providing diverse programming for performing arts, theater, exhibition galleries, conferences, and commercial trade fairs. The fluid shape of the buildings creates a transition from the tropical waters of Sanya Bay to the urban fabric of the city, with a central axis dividing the layered roofs that feather outwards and dematerialize the architectural volume.
Mario Cucinella Architects Reveals Design for Italian Pavilion at Expo Osaka 2025
Mario Cucinella Architects has just revealed the design of the Italian Pavilion for Expo Osaka 2025. Envisioned as a dynamic entity, the pavilion aims to foster knowledge and innovation through the interplay of different generations and cultures. It will serve as a collaborative repository of Italian expertise, encompassing artistic, scientific, entrepreneurial, and social experiments. The display is designed around Italy's cultural treasures and aims to highlight, deconstruct, and then reinterpret them in a contemporary manner.
Clad in Translucent Marble Slabs, The Perelman Performing Arts Center Opens in New York’s Ground Zero
After over two decades in the making, the Perelman Performing Arts Center opened to the public on September 19, 2023. The luminous cube-shaped building was designed by the architecture firm REX, led by Joshua Ramus, to become one of New York City’s cultural keystones and the final piece in the 2023 Master Plan for the rebuilding of the 16-acre World Trade Center site. The inaugural season will feature commissions, world premieres, co-productions, and collaborative work across theater, dance, music, opera, film, and more. While only eight stories high, the venue stands out due to its monolithic façade composed of translucent veined Portuguese marble.
MAD Architects Unveils Contextual Design for Anji Culture and Art Center in Southeast China
Led by Ma Yansong, MAD Architects has revealed the design of the Anji Culture and Art Center in the Zhejiang Province in southeast China. The new center, covering a site area of about 149,000 square meters, features six event venues: a Grand Theater, a Conference Center, a Leisure Center, a Sports Center, a Youth Activity Center, and an Art Education Center. All functions are spread out beneath bamboo-leaves-inspired roofs, referencing the Anji area, known as the ‘bamboo and white tea’ town of China. Construction of the center has begun and is expected to be completed and in use by 2025.
What Is Eclectic Architecture?
Architectural styles have fallen out of favor throughout history. Generally, the peak of one movement means the decline of another. Over time, the situation may reverse, as in the case of postmodernism, which has divided opinions since its emergence, but experienced a revival in the first decades of the 2000s (or maybe not). Temporal distance contributes to the revision of certain styles' relevance and evaluation of their qualities - or problems.
MAD’s Ma Yansong Unveils Intricate Performance Space for Aranya Theater Festival in China
Ma Yansong revealed The City of Time, a performance space and the location of a 300-hour artist residency created for the Aranya Theater Festival in China. Following the metaphor of avian migration, the Migratory Birds 300 is an artist residency program that brings together 300 creators from diverse fields and backgrounds. From June 12 to June 25, Ma Yansong’s architectural intervention will host a wide array of artistic expressions, including shows, installations, sculptures, performance art, paintings, and videos, including 131 group works and 194 individual projects.
Mecanoo, in Partnership with Marvel, Reimagines the Doris Duke Theater Lost to a Fire in 2020
Jacob's Pillow has revealed its plans for the redesigned Doris Duke Theater, which will be built on the original site of the theater that was destroyed by a fire in November 2020. Mecanoo, based in the Netherlands and led by Creative Director and Founding Partner Francine Houben, has taken on the role of lead architect for the new building project, collaborating with Marvel, based in New York and led by Jonathan Marvel, who serves as the project's architect of record and landscape architects.
Diller Scofidio + Renfro Wins International Competition to Design the New Pina Bausch Center in Wuppertal, Germany
Diller Scofidio + Renfro has won an international competition to design the new Pina Bausch Zentrum in Wuppertal, Germany. Pina Bausch’s legacy as a dancer and choreographer will be celebrated in the design and revitalization of the Tanztheater Wuppertal, as well as in the creation of a new production center. The building will emerge out of the ethos of Pina Bausch, setting an example for a new generation of leadership in the world of choreography.
Apart from the production stage centers, the design includes an archive of Pina Bausch's enormous artistic legacy, comprising a library, study, and research areas, and a public platform to promote community involvement with many creative and academic disciplines. Various contrasting and flexible spaces that encourage and foster conversation across the project's numerous program components are found throughout the proposed design.
Henning Larsen, Architectus, and Arup Selected to Transform the Canberra Theatre Centre in Australia
The consortium formed of international studio Henning Larsen, Australian office Architectus, and global consultants Arup has been selected to transform the Canberra Theater Center into a vibrant and inclusive space. The project is developed in consultation with First Nations peoples to ensure that Canberra’s Civic and Cultural District will become a welcoming space for both artists and audiences. The winning tender includes preliminary designs that depict a new theater building to be added to the district, in addition to the renovation of the Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theater, and The Playhouse.
BIG, William Rawn Associates and EOA Architects Selected to Design the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's New Performance Home
The Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) has selected an international architecture team to design its new performance home. Comprising BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), William Rawn Associates, and Nashville-based EOA Architects, the global architecture team will reimagine the 50-year-old performing arts non-profit on a different site from its original 1974 plot, part of the State-owned James K. Polk Cultural Center.
MVRDV Reveals Design for the Extensive Renovation Project of the Koblenz Theater in Germany
MVRDV has revealed its design for the extensive renovation project of the Theater Koblenz, in Germany. The project includes an interior redesign and a significant backstage element makeover. The proposal, which operates within the confines of the existing structure, balances the many requirements of the brief: history preservation is taken into account alongside essential technical improvements and roof rehabilitation. Additionally, the operations building's façade on Clemensstraße will be renovated to give this backstage entrance a contemporary, expressive appearance that emphasizes its inclusion in the theater complex, clearly separating it from the building's original guest entrance. The repair preserved a significant portion of the structure for future use and used biodegradable materials as much as feasible to reduce carbon emissions.
70°N arkitektur, Together with Snøhetta and Artist Joar Nango, Designs a National Theater for the Indigenous Sámi People in Norway
The Sámi National Theater Beaivváš and Sámi High School and Reindeer Husbandry School are two of the most important cultural institutions of Sápmi, a region in northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. To strengthen the position of the two institutions, a project was initiated in June 2021 to create a shared cultural and educational facility. A design proposal by 70°N arkitektur, in collaboration with Snøhetta and artist and architect Joar Nango, was chosen following a competition. The building, also known as Čoarvemátta, is currently under construction and is expected to be completed by 2024.