Guangdong Province, China
Designed as a hub of contemporary creativity within one of the world’s most dynamic regions, the Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre is located at the heart of Jinwan district’s Western Ecological New Town where the new Zhuhai Airport Intercity railway provides direct connections with Zhuhai’s city centre, its airport and Hengqin district, as well as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau and Hong Kong via interchanges.
Zaha Hadid Architects have integrated four distinct cultural institutions for the city: a 1200- seat Grand Theatre; a 500-seat Multifunctional Hall, a Science Centre; and an Art Museum, each venue within the center incorporates unique characteristics to create the most engaging visitor experiences, yet all are united by a coherent structure that spans 170 meters wide from east to west and 270 meters long from north to south.
Arranged symmetrically, the two larger and two smaller venues are connected by a central plaza that serves as a shared external foyer to each of the four cultural institutions.
Glazed walls facing this courtyard enable visitors to determine the individuality and character of each venue.
The Grand Theatre and Art Museum are very light in their materiality, while the Multifunctional Hall and Science Center have a much darker palette of materials.
Echoing the chevron patterns of migratory birds flying in formation over southern China, the latticed steel canopies over each venue are configured through repetition, symmetry and scale variation; resulting in a composition of related elements that respond to the different functional requirements of each building.
Every building-module of the roof is self-supporting and self-stabilising. The repetition of the modules optimises pre-fabrication, pre-assembly and the use of modular construction.
Echoing the chevron patterns of migratory birds flying in formation over southern China, the latticed steel canopies over each venue are configured through repetition, symmetry and scale variation; resulting in a composition of related elements that respond to the different functional requirements of each building.
Every building-module of the roof is self-supporting and self-stabilising. The repetition of the modules optimises pre-fabrication, pre-assembly and the use of modular construction.
Ramps invite visitors to the rooftop piazza where footbridges and stairs connect through a central void to each venue; glazed façades provide transparency and welcome the community onto its public plazas beneath the sweeping roof structure.
An external amphitheatre on the west side of the centre allows for outdoor performances and activities.
The center’s landscaping and surrounding lake are designed as integral elements within Zhuhai’s “sponge city” initiative that targets the natural permeation, storage and re-use of at least 70% of the city’s rainwater; using aquatic flora and fauna to naturally filter contaminants. Humidity and soil-moisture sensors within the landscaping’s irrigation system will control and reduce water consumption.
Optimized for thermal performance, the double-insulated glazing of the building’s envelope is protected by the latticed roof canopy which incorporates perforated aluminium panels to provide external solar shading.
The perforations within the panels vary in size to allow differing degrees of sunlight within the centre’s interior spaces in accordance to their programming requirements, solar gain and orientation.
Energy consumption and indoor air quality monitoring systems with intelligent control will automatically adjust the centre’s interior environments for optimal comfort and energy reduction.
Waste heat recovery will be used to meet the centre hot water demand with water-saving appliances connected to the centre’s water recycling system.
Zaha Hadid Architects’ Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre
Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Competition Team: Armando Bussey, Clara Martins, Cristiano Ceccato, Charles Walker, Ed Gaskin, Filippo Nassetti, Jinqi Huang, Juan Liu, Lydia Kim, Julian Lin, Satoshi Ohashi, Paulo Flores, Harry Spraiter, Patrick Schumacher, Houzhe Xu, amd Simon Yu
Design Team: Zaha Hadid, Patrick Schumacher, Satoshi Ohashi, Charles Walker, Lydia Kim, MeiLing Lin, Aurora Santana, Mei-Ling Lin, Elena Scripelliti, Armando Bussey, Marius Cernica, Grace Chung, Nelli Denisova, Xuexin Duan, Kaloyan Erevinov, Nassim Eshaghi, Kate Hunter, Yang Jingwen, Reza Karimi, Ben Kikkawa, Lydia Kim, Julian Lin, Mei-Ling Lin, Valeria Mazzilli, Sareh Mirseyed Nazari, Massimo Napoleoni, Yevgeniya Pozigun, Cao Qi, Qiuyu Zhao, Aurora Santana, Hannes Schafelner, Michael Sims, Patrik Schumacher, Sharan Sundar, Maria Touloupou, Chao Wei, and Charles Walker
Landscape Architects: Beijing Institute of Architecture & Design (South China Centre)
Client: Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre
