Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has been named as the winner of an international competition to design the Jinghe New City Culture & Art Centre in the Shaanxi province, China. The project is part of the Jinghe New City, an area growing as a science and technology hub with new scientific research institutes that are driven by environmental awareness. The architecture blends with the surrounding landscape, echoing the valleys carved by the Jinghe River through the mountains and landscapes of Shaanxi province.
Jinghe New City is becoming a center for developing industries that focus on new energy, materials, artificial intelligence, and aerospace. The New City Culture & Art Centre is located within the Jinghe Bay Academician Science & Technology Innovation district of the city. The architecture is organized as a series of flowing volumes, layers, and surfaces, interconnecting with courtyards and landscapes that define a sequence of interior and exterior spaces for its community.
The center’s design merges with the city’s existing urban masterplan to connect the new multimedia library to the north of Jinghe Avenue with the new performing arts theatre, multi-function halls, studios, and exhibition galleries to the south via elevated courtyards, gardens, and paths. Gently sloping ramps provide a gateway to the district’s network of public walkways, linking to its commercial and residential districts with the parks and river to the south, while giving city’s residents direct access to the planned metro station.
The multimedia library’s terraces overlook its full-height atrium with diffusing skylights to provide a variety of public reading zones, which will integrate both print publications and immersive virtual reality technologies. On the southern side of the avenue, the performing arts theatre is allocated, accommodating up to 450 people and various types of events. The multi-function hall, studios, and galleries are stacked and arranged around the theatre to share public areas that enhance accessibility and inter-disciplinary collaboration.
As a means of optimizing the center's use of natural ventilation and daylight, solar irradiation analysis and responsive site planning were conducted, accommodating to the mild temperate climate of Jinghe New City. Construction prioritized locally-produced materials through incorporating photovoltaic panels for on-site power generation, rainwater collection, and a high recycled content to achieve a 3-star certification in China’s Green Building program.
