Zaha Hadid Architects reveals flowing, futuristic design for the River Culture and Art Center in Shaoxing, China

Zaha Hadid Architects has revealed its design for a new cultural and arts center in Shaoxing, China, featuring large, undulating, sloping roofs. Named the Zhejiang Shaoxing Shangyu District Cao’e River Culture and Art Centre, the project will serve as the cornerstone of a new cultural district in the Shangyu District of Shaoxing, located in Zhejiang Province.

The center will include a 1,400-seat Grand Theatre, a 500-seat Black-Box Multifunctional Hall, a 2,900-square-meter Arts and Education Center, a 3,000-square-meter Conference Center, a 7,500-square-meter Heritage Museum, and a 10,000-square-meter Digital Art Gallery. It is designed to host regional and international productions, including opera, dance, drama, symphonies, and musical theater.

The center’s covered courtyards, located along the historic Cao’e River, extend seamlessly from the building’s interior. These outdoor spaces offer residents and visitors a range of parklands and gardens for relaxation and leisure, flowing into terraced landscapes that surround the center and connect directly to the city.

Photovoltaic panels integrated into the roofs will help significantly reduce the center’s energy consumption from the municipal grid. The unique roof forms are designed to extend lower and farther along the southern façades, providing optimal protection from intense solar radiation.

In other news, Zaha Hadid Architects unveiled its first project in Malaysia, developed in collaboration with JLand Group Sdn Bhd (JLG). The firm has also commenced construction on the Ülemiste Passenger Terminal in Tallinn, Estonia, and shared an update on the ongoing construction of the West Kowloon Terminus in Hong Kong. Additionally, ZHA won a competition to design the Riga Ropax Terminal in Latvia.

FACT FILE:

Client: Shaoxing Shangyu Urban and Rural Ecological Environmental Protection Development Co., LTD

The Consortium: Zaha Hadid Limited (trading as Zaha Hadid Architects) and Central-South Architectural Design Institute Co., Ltd

Design Lead: Zaha Hadid Limited (trading as Zaha Hadid Architects)

Principal Architect: Patrik Schumacher

Chief Architect: Paulo Flores

Commercial Director: Charles Walker

Project Leaders: Yazhu Liang, Saman Dadgostar

Competition Project leaders: Yazhu Liang, Jakub Klaska, Saman Dadgostar, Sven Torres

Façade Lead: Edgar Payan

ZHA Design Team: Barbara Schickermueller, Berkin Islam, Charles Liang, Chen-Ru Sung, Fangxingchi Du, Gerhild Orthacker, Gizem Dogan, Hao Wen, Jinhee Koh, Karina Linnsen, Paul Joseph, Rishil Parikh, Stefan Manousof, Yuxuan Zhao

ZHA Support Team: Tyson Hosmer, Ziming He, Baris Erdincer, Bahaa Alnassrallah

Local Design Institute, Structure, Engineering, MEP, Quantity Surveyor: Central-South Architectural Design Institute Co., Ltd (CSADI)

Theatre Planning and Acoustic Consultant: ARUP

Photo/ renders courtesy: Proloog, Zaha Hadid Architecture