Zaha Hadid Architects

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© AT OPTOGRAM STUDIO

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center

Zaha Hadid Architects

BIM CONSULTANT
Beijing BIMTechnologie

PROJECT ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS
Lydia Kim, Yang Jingwen

INTERIOR CONSULTANT
Shenzhen Z&F Culture Construction

GENERAL CONTRACTOR
MCC City Investment Holding

AMPLIFY CONSULTANT
Radio, Film & TV Design and Research Institute

LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR
Zhuhai Wuyue Landscape Engineering

INTERIOR CONTRACTOR
Shenzhen Weiye Decoration Group

ACOUSTIC CONSULTANT
East China Architectural Design & Research Institute (Acoustic & Theatre Special Design & Research Division)

LANDSCAPE CONSULTANT
Beijing Institute of Architecture & Design (South China Centre)

THEATER CONSULTANT
Shanghai DeYi Engineering Technology

FACADE CONSULTANT
Zhuhai City Honghai Curtain Wall

LOCAL DESIGN INSTITUTE
Beijing Institute of Architecture & Design South China Centre

LIGHTING CONSULTANT
Shenzhen Global Lighting Technology

GREEN BUILDING CONSULTANT
Guangdong JORJUN Green Building Technology

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, Simon Yu

PROJECT TEAM
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, Satoshi Ohashi, Yevgeniya Pozigun, Qi Cao, Qiuyu Zhao, Aurora Santana, Hannes Schafelner, Michael Sims, Patrik Schumacher, Sharan Sundar, Maria Touloupou, Chao Wei, Charles Walker, Kai-Jui Tsao, Yuling Ma, Feifei Fan

STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT
Beijing Institute of Architecture & Design South China Centre

PROJECT CORE TEAM
Armando Bussey, Reza Karimi, Julian Lin

PROJECT LEADS
Mei-Ling Lin, Elena Scripelliti

PROJECT CA TEAM
Qi Cao, Kai-Jui Tsao, Mei-Ling Lin, Juan Liu, Yuling Ma, Feifei Fan

PROJECT DIRECTORS
Satoshi Ohashi, Charles Walker

PROJECT ASSOCIATES
Mei-Ling Lin, Aurora Santana (SD)

FACADE CONTRACTOR
Shenzhen Sanxin Technology Development

DESIGN PRINCIPALS
Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher

FIRE CONSULTANT
Beijing Institute of Architecture & Design (South China Centre)

SIGNAGE CONSULTANT
W&T Design

PHOTOGRAPHS
AT OPTOGRAM STUDIO, Virgile Simon Bertrand, Seilao Jiong, Yipeng Lyu

AREA
100000 m²

YEAR
2023

LOCATION
Zhuhai, China

CATEGORY
Performing Arts Center, Museum

Designed as a hub of contemporary creativity within one of the world’s most dynamic regions, the Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre is at the heart of Aviation New City, an urbanization with a built area of 4.78 million sq. m housing 100,000 residents and incorporating new civic, cultural, academic and commercial infrastructure within Zhuhai’s Jinwan district.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© AT OPTOGRAM STUDIO
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand

The Zhuhai Airport Railway, an extension of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway, provides direct connections with Zhuhai’s city center and its airport, while the new Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge enables those in Shenzhen and Hong Kong to reach Zhuhai in less than an hour.

Integrating three distinct cultural institutions for the city (a Performing Arts Centre with a 1200-seat Grand Theatre and a 500-retractable-seat multifunctional Black Box theatre; an interactive Science Centre; and an Art Museum) each venue within the Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Arts Centre incorporates unique characteristics that create differing visitor experiences, yet all are united by a coherent formal and structural logic that spans 170 meters wide from east to west and 270 meters long from north to south.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© AT OPTOGRAM STUDIO
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© AT OPTOGRAM STUDIO

Arranged symmetrically on a central axis, the two larger and two smaller venues are connected by a central plaza that serves as a shared external foyer for all of the 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 finished in a light palate of materials, while the multifunctional Black Box Theatre and Science Centre are composed of darker materials.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand

Echoing the chevron patterns of migratory birds flying in formation over southern China, the latticed steel canopies sheltering 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.

This repetition of the self-supporting and self-stabilizing roof modules optimized pre-fabrication, pre-assembly, and the use of modular construction.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand

The distinctive roof structure unites the different venues under a network of reticulated shells that envelop the four wings of the center. Interconnecting bridges and voids create a multi-layered public plaza at the heart of the center with views to the interiors as well as to the surrounding promenades with their cafés, restaurants, and educational facilities.

The design optimizes intuitive navigation with natural light in all public areas to enhance connectivity; creating engaging civic spaces for locals to enjoy throughout the day and evening.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand

The Grand Theatre’s interior continues the composition of the center’s external roof canopy with the location and angle of ceiling panels optimized as sound reflectors.

The Grand Theatre’s sound-absorbing surfaces are designed to meet the highest acoustic standards required for local, national, and international performances.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand

The Art Museum adapts the chevron geometries of the roof to frame the main atrium which provides natural light to the museum while at the same time creating a continuous vertical surface to display artworks.

An internal gallery, storage, and administrative spaces are located behind this vertical division. Merging architecture with an exhibition experience, a continuous white ‘ribbon’ of the museum’s vertical circulation and exhibition route is its’ defining feature.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand

The Science Centre’s interior also translates the geometry of the center’s roof to showcase scientific innovation with interactive exhibits that inspire curiosity and learning. The Science Centre’s lecture hall is designed for the center’s program of public demonstrations of scientific experiments and discovery.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre’s podium defines an island within ZhongXin Lake. Pedestrian ramps and tunnels invite visitors to cross the lake’s surface to the podium’s central public plaza where footbridges connect through voids to each venue.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Seilao Jiong

Glazed façades sheltered by the modular roof canopy provide transparency and welcome the local community onto lakeside boardwalks and plazas beneath the sweeping roof structure. An external amphitheater on the west side of the center allows for outdoor performances and activities.

Constructed in concrete, the center consists of five structurally separate buildings, each with its own self-supporting external steel canopy.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand

Supported by only 22 columns and spanning a total of 270m x 170m, these free-formed steel roof canopies are composed of symmetrical geometries to enable their modular, repetitive structures to be fabricated off-site and assembled from only two different column types.

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.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand

Humidity and soil-moisture sensors within the landscaping’s irrigation system control and reduce water consumption.

Located within the subtropical climate of coastal southern China, the double-insulated glazing of the building’s envelope is optimized for thermal performance and protected by the latticed roof canopy which incorporates perforated aluminum panels for external solar shading.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Seilao Jiong
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Seilao Jiong

The perforations within the panels vary in size to allow differing degrees of sunlight within the center’s interior spaces in accordance with their programming requirements, orientation, and solar gain. At night, this roof canopy bathes the center in soft reflected light.

Energy consumption and indoor air quality monitoring systems with intelligent control will automatically adjust the center’s interior environments for optimal comfort and energy reduction.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand

Waste heat recovery will be used to meet the center’s hot water demand with water-saving appliances connected to the center’s water recycling system.

Designed to meet the highest tiers of China’s Green Building Evaluation Standards, the selection and procurement of the center’s structural components has prioritized recycled steel, aggregates, and other component materials.

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand


Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
© Yipeng Lyu


Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
Elevations
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center


Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center


Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Center

Zaha Hadid Architects
T +44 20 72535147 F +44 20 72518322
Zaha Hadid Architects
101 Goswell Rd., London EC1V 7EZ, United Kingdom