MAD Architects has unveiled its design for the Shenzhen Bay Culture Park along the waterfront in Shenzhen, China. The masterplan puts in place a 51,000 square meters cultural complex that includes the Creative Design Hall, the Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum, and a vast public green space.
Led by Ma Yansong, Beijing-based MAD Architects presented their ambitious scheme for the Shenzhen Bay Culture Park, encompassing a total built area of 182,000 square meters. Expected to be completed in 2023, the proposal is “set between the young vibrant city of Shenzhen, and the quiet oceanfront”, tackling both the ancient and the future. Located within the Houhai area of Shenzhen’s Nanshan district, known as “China's Silicon Valley”, the Shenzhen Bay Culture Park aims to help establish the cultural aspect of the city.
When building a cultural landmark on a site positioned between the dynamic energy of a modern city and quiet timelessness of nature, it should be imagined as a free civic space – at first a land art park, with its functions complementing its aesthetics. -- Ma Yansong
Composed of a sprawling green plaza, the project holds, on the ground floor, sunken earth-art landscape functions, such as a reception area, standard exhibition halls, public education space, library, auditorium, theater, café and supporting business. In fact, Ma Yansong states that “architecture should be integrated into nature shaping a landscape where one can find spiritual belonging in the city.”
Leading directly from the city over to the park, pedestrian pathways connect the greater urban area to the public green space. A series of green sloping roofs generate sunken and recessed courtyards, part of the 24-hour three-dimensional citizen’s park. An extension of the city’s main road towards the water, the park creates recreational space along the waterfront and puts in place multiple platforms for outdoor performance venues and public art exhibition areas. Moreover, at the heart of the plot, a mirrored pool “serves as an en plein air seaside amphitheater that can accommodate 10,000 people”.
I want to create a surreal atmosphere, so that the people who visit, relax or exercise here have the possibility of engaging in a dialogue with the past and the future. Time and space are dissolved and placed against each other, manifesting a sense of weightlessness, and unrestrained imagination. -- Ma Yansong.
Bringing a visionary concept into the city, where people can establish a renewed perspective of time and space, the project holds two monumental pavilions sitting on opposite sides of the site. “Along the top floor of the south pavilion, visitors can walk through the exhibition space to reach a viewing platform that overlooks Shenzhen Bay and the city skyline”. The unique gallery can accommodate a diverse display of large-scale installations, videos, multi-media, and performances, delivering stunning architectural spatial effects, with its highest space soaring to 30 meters.
Shenzhen Bay Culture Park
- Location: Shenzhen, China
- Typology: Exhibition Halls, Park
- Site Area: approx. 51,000 square meters
- Building Area: 182,000 square meters
- Principal Partners-in-Charge: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
- Associate Partners-in-Charge: Kin Li, Tiffany Dahlen
- Design Team: Li Cunhao, Zhang Chao, Neeraj Mahajan, Sun Shouquan, Zhang Yaohui, Huang Jinkun, Maria Corella, Kenji Hada, Lin Zi Han, Yu Lin, Yan Ran, Chen Yi-en , Liu Hailun, Pittayapa Suriyapee, Lei Kaiyun, Alessandro Fisalli, Edgar Navarrete S., Haruka Tomoeda, Lu Zihao
- Executive Architect: East China Architectural Design and Research Institute
- Structural Consultant: Arup Engineering Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. Shenzhen Branch
- Façade Consultant: RFR (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
- Interior Design: Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Decoration & Landscape Design Research Institute Co., Ltd.
- Lighting Design: Beijing NingXhiJing Lighting Design Co., Ltd.
- Signage Design: Kenya Hara (Nippon Design Center)
- Acoustic Design: Guangdong Qiyuan Architectural Engineering Design Institute Co., Ltd.
- Traffic Consultant: Paimeng Transportation Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
- Traffic Assessment: China Urban Development Institute Co., Ltd.
- Animation: SAN
- Renderings: Proloog
- Model Photography: Guo Xuan
