UK firm Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has been selected to design a cultural centre for the international productions of opera, dance and drama in Zhejiang, about 30km south of Shanghai.
The Zhejiang Shaoxing Shangyu District Cao‘e River Culture and Art Centre will contain a 1,400-seat grand theatre, a 500-seat black-box hall, a 2,900 sq m arts and education area, 3,000 sq m conference space, 7,500 sq m heritage museum and a 10,000 sq m digital art gallery.
The exterior contains sheltered courtyards with terraced landscapes and gardens that extend into Shaoxing and onto the banks of the Cao‘e River.
The design for the white interconnected roofs is inspired by the surrounding area’s vernacular style of glazed tiles fastened to pitched roofs, as are the façades, which reference the jade-green Celadon ceramics that date to the Northern Song Dynasty, some 1,200 years ago.
Solar analysis dictated the geometry of the roofs’ to maximise shade, shelter and solar power.
The culture and art centre will be the cornerstone of a cultural quarter within the Shangyu District of Shaoxing.
