The global architects at Benoy have announced their design for The Hangzhou Canal Art Center — a new, green hub for local cultural events and art exhibitions. Located in the revitalizing, Gongshu district in Hangzhou, China, the art center will occupy the former site of a thermoelectric power plant.
The 14,000 square meter art center will be built adjacent to Joy City, Benoy’s expansive mixed-use urban complex, marked at each corner by three office towers and a residential building. Occupying 130,000 square meters, Joy City is expected to open this August, transforming the area into a destination before the Canal Art Center project is completed by the end of the year.
Opting for a simple façade of plain concrete, steel plates, wood, and metal mesh, the Hangzhou Canal Art Center is meant to respond and adapt to its use and surroundings. The building's central enclosed spaces will be lifted off the ground allowing the public to circulate freely through the structure, creating a seamless transition between the art center and the existing cityscape.
We deliberately broke down the massing of the building, mixing public space into the development. We then blurred the boundaries between indoor and outdoor through the use of spatial concepts such as courtyards, corridors and semi-open spaces.
-Qin Pang, Director of Benoy’s Shanghai Studio
News via: Benoy
