Zaha Hadid Architects’ 100,000 sq m art centre has been completed in Guangdong’s Aviation New City in southeast China.
The Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Arts Centre includes a 1,200-seat theatre, a 500-retractable-seat multifunctional “Black Box” theatre, as well as an interactive science centre and an art museum.
These structurally separate buildings are arranged along a central axis and connected by a central plaza that serves as a shared foyer.
The large theatre and art museum are finished in light materials whereas the Black Box Theatre and Science Centre are composed of darker materials.
The venues are topped by latticed steel canopies, with each inspired by the chevron formations of migratory birds. These structures unite the venues under a network of reticulated shells that envelop the four wings of the centre.
The two larger and two smaller venues are connected by interconnecting bridges and voids that form a central plaza that acts as a shared external foyer.
The theatre’s interior continues the external roof canopy, with ceiling panels acting as sound reflectors.
The art museum adapts the chevron geometries of the roof to frame the main atrium, which provides natural light to the museum while creating a continuous vertical surface to display artworks.
The science centre’s interior also translates the geometry of the centre’s roof to showcase scientific innovation with interactive exhibits.
