Xiangzhou Cultural Centre
Xiangzhou Cultural Centre is intended to house art and cultural exhibitions. The cultural centre acts as a bridge between two existing historic villages and their communities dating from the Sung Dynasty.
The brief was to take advantage of the site position, orientation towards the surrounding landscape, and micro climate of Zhuhai in order to create a sustainable built environment that is unique but still deeply connected to the city.
The project softens the lines between the natural and manmade landscapes. The site forms an edge between the villages and a beautiful mountain park. The 50,000sqm mass is split into two volumes, creating a linear outdoor space between the two buildings, which is to be used by the local community to form a direct connection to the mountain park. The split in the building also helps to catch and channel wind from the mountain.
One of the buildings contains the gallery and teaching functions and the other contains the library and workshops. The strategy allows various functions to operate independently in different time schedules. The buildings are strategically positioned to avoid over-shadowing between the two forms and maximise the public plaza towards the southern sun while offering uninterrupted views facing the hills on the south side of the site.
The inspiration drew from the local culture of outdoor living by creating a public plaza. It wraps around the edge of the site and directs pedestrian flow through the building to the outdoor courtyard and amphitheatre, which then leads to the mountain park. The outdoor courtyard is linked to the internal functions of the cultural centre as well as the external communal activities. A public library and theatre open onto the courtyard providing a hub for community activities further strengthening the cultural centre's links to the wider community.
The design was further influenced by Zhuhai's ancient Chinese garden pavilions in which there is a harmonious interweaving of the built and natural environment and the textures of late Song Dynasty landscape paintings.
