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Architects: Tianhua Architecture Planning & Engineering Ltd.
- Area: 20740 m²
- Year: 2016
- Photographs: ARCH-EXIST
Text description provided by the architects. Shanghai Waigaoqiao Cultural & Art Centre is located on the E-03 Plot at the center of Waigaoqiao New Town, adjacent to North Zhangyang Road to its east, just 100 meters from Zhouhai Road to its north, near the Zhouhai Road station along the Metro Line 6.
Tianhua Architecture Planning & Engineering Co,. Ltd. won the bidding for Shanghai Waigaoqiao Cultural & Art Centre in 2006, ushering in a new journey that would later last one decade.
The authorities emphasizes in its master plan for the New Town that it expects the site to become a central business district with office blocks, hotels, business centres, conference centres and so forth.
The project is expected to create a multi-purpose cultural and art centre to host literary and art performances, conferences, film screenings, art exhibitions, cultural, science education, reading and other public activities.
Located near the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, the Centre is 6 kilometers away from the Waigaoqiao Port. Given that the Port is home to shipping containers, financial and trade businesses, the architects involved anticipate the Centre to become an extension of the global image of this area that mirrors its cultural life.
The architects employed simple approaches to highlight the building’s characteristics under the geographic context. Based on the “container culture” typical of such ports, they created a juxtaposition of distinct volumes with glass and metal to enhance the visual effects while ensuring the building functions in an energy-efficient manner. Meanwhile a series of indoor and outdoor spaces are designed to prompt more public activities.
The huge “box” for exhibitions is raised on other volumes to establish a dialogue with the outside world. Its exterior space enclosed by glass ribs provides views of its surroundings, such as the light rail trains in movement where passengers can also spot the box, getting first impression of the area.
The theatre is designed to mainly host literary and art performances and major conferences, occasionally film screenings.
The second floor which is accessible from the square connecting the out-door stair , accommodates a children's wonderland , a multi-media corner ，a reading room and a centre for the elderly. Space on this floor brings together the activities for both children and adults, and it's featured by a huge bay window for the children's wonderland there.
The fifth floor is where spaces for entrepreneurs’ club, an exhibition hall，a wine bar and other training classrooms are located.
Construction on the Centre had to grind to a halt in 2009 for various reasons. No doubt it is an inspiration to the architects and the client that Waigaoqiao Cultural & Art Centre is eventually completed in 2016.
