Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas has been announced as winner of an international competition to design and construct the first cultural center in Chengdu, China. In their winning proposal, Fuksas combined four, elliptical shaped buildings with a spiral structure to create an inclusive artist complex that offers a center for the performing arts, a cultural center, offices Writer and Literary Association, and an apartment building for artists.
Learn more about the Chengdu Tianfu Cultural and Performance Center after the break.
The design was inspired by an ancient symbol of the city of Chengdu, who was devastated by an earthquake in 2008, and is intended to represent the “willingness of the Chinese community to look at the future, focusing on art and culture.”
As described by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, the project was “conceived as a symphony of architectural volumes, creating the effect of a music that you can listen to with your eyes. On a total area of about 110,000 square meters, the elliptical shape of each building gives the impression of a perpetual motion and continuous vibration. The surface of the facade is a continuous ribbon coated with a metal skin with openings geometric design that allow natural light to enter the interior of the four volumes.”
The complex is made up of a center for the performing arts that houses two theaters totaling 1800 seats and a music hall of 600 seats, along with a cultural center with a 3000 seat theater and an exhibition gallery, offices Writer and Literary Association, and an apartment building for artists. All programs are surrounded by green gardens that evoke the colorful, eastern hills of Sichuan.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2013, “reflecting the dynamism and desire to grow of the big community of Chengdu”, which is the fifth most populous city in China.
Architects: Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas Location: Chengdu, Sichuan, China Surface: 89,384 sqm Area: 110,000 sqm Cost: 150 million euro Project Year: 2012
Browse through an impressive list of built works by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas here on ArchDaily!
