The project by Synthesis Design + Architecture is a “cross-strait” cultural center in Fuzhou, designed to commemorate the connection between China and Taiwan. The project is divided into two buildings, with each building conceptually representing a tree of Chinese culture, with three levels of articulation.

The first is the Roots, these define the ground plane, landscaping and lower levels of the buildings and illustrate that Chinese culture emerges from the earth of China. The coordinated movement of the two root systems – cultural versus commercial – on the site becomes one network, unifying the site into a fluid and articulated park like condition with many moments of contemplation and pockets of space.

The second is Branches, the branches grow from the roots to wrap the cultural fruit-seeds-tree houses that float above the roots and connect the different components to make them one unified whole. This unifying skin uses the graphic effect of a porous network of branches to define and articulate the skin of the building in two ways – as a perforated white reinforced fiber concrete facade system, which is back-lit in the perforations, and as a white translucent lightweight tensile membrane roof system which at night glows from within and by day, glows internally.

Finally are the Fruit-seeds-tree-houses – these are the varying programmatic contents of the project that are each positioned in a radial arrangement pointing out of the tree towards various destinations of cultural significance to Chinese heritage in the world. The seeds in the earth grow to become the fruit – the cultural by products of the culture itself – opera, film, music, art, commerce, food. Read the rest of this entry »

The playful King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture by Snøhetta is expected to be completed in 2015. It is a bold new initiative on the part of the Saudi Aramco Oil Company to promote cultural development within the Kingdom. The powerful condition of the keystone arrangement is visible from a longitudinal section – the main stone is seen to be suspended within the public areas below ground while the remaining elements reinforce this event.

Located in Dhahran in the Eastern Province the Cultural Center will provide for a wide range of activities serving the local population and becoming a cultural landmark on both a regional, national and global horizon. When completed, the project will contain diverse cultural facilities, including an auditorium, cinema, library, exhibition hall, museum and archive. The auditorium will seat 930 visitors and will provide for a wide range of events ranging from opera, symphony concerts, musicals and lectures etc. Together with the smaller cinema, this will be a unique venue for the performing arts in the Kingdom.

The library will become a center of learning containing some 200,000 books on open access and catering for all ages and categories of users. The great exhibition hall will accommodate large scale travelling exhibitions, as well as providing the setting for social events, banquets and conferences. The museum and archive facilities connect the vibrant cultural life of the center to the past and to the very roots of the society from which this center is conceived.

The museum spaces are organized around the central light. This is both a source of daylight, penetrating deep into the space, but also a source of inspiration for the architecture and content of this building. Read the rest of this entry »

Back in the 2010, MAD Architects won the competition to design the cultural center of Harbin. Recently, in August 2013, the structure of the Cultural Center was completed and the project finally began to take shape. The city of Harbin has the reputation as the musical capital of the north and is influenced by both Chinese and Russian culture. MAD’s cultural center, unlike many public facilities of the similar kind, wasn’t designed to be the lonely landmark in the city center, but the natural continuation of the human spirit.

The Cultural Island embraces the riverbank and appears as a glacier stretching and connecting the banks into a cohesive whole. The movement of the terrain strategically directs the flow of people from different directions to the entrance of Harbin Theater and Harbin Labor Recreation Center. The ramp of the Grand Theater guides people in, resembling a mountain path. The entire building acts as an undulating snow covered mountain, following a natural rhythm.

The cladding of the Cultural Center is custom-made, in pure white aluminum. Mimicking ice and snow, the white stone and concrete are also used as for the part of the wall. During the day, the need for interior lighting can be completely satisfied with energy-saving and special lighting effects. Read the rest of this entry »

With arts and culture at the core of Taichung, Taiwan’s urban identity, and the vision to lead in innovation and technology, RMJM’s design proposal seeks to bring together these significant attributes in a construct emblematic of Taichung’s achievements and vision.

We live in an archival era characterized by an impulse to collect, where all our experiences are supported by technological additions and digital information monitoring. A cultural center is a place of learning and a repository of information, in essence, a large archive. This accumulation of information can be thought of as a sort of “digital cloud,” an invisible archive of sorts. Read the rest of this entry »

Sériès et Sérièes, French-Californian practice, in successful collaboration with engineering partner Buro Happold did a proposal for Taiwan’s Taichung City Cultural Center. The project is rooted in architects’ vision of how the urban interventions of new age have to be – they have to have minimal environmental impact and very high visibility, in order to have the strength and power to shift the perceptions of a neighborhood and to change the common thought into the realm of what is possible to be done but has never been done before.

Due to the fact that the authors from Sériès et Sérièes believe in a fact that the success of the cultural center lies in the ability of the built environment to actually inspire the residents to look beyond the common and expected, materialistic and the easily consumed, in favor of the stimulating and daring. The the Taichung Fine Arts Museum and Library is designed to become a sustainable landmark.

In order to become a landmark, the form of the project resists easy classification – it avoids the association with successive symbols of the industrial, the abstract, the utilitarian and the poetic. It is done in mixing maximum efficiency with maximum artistry. The building takes a geometrical stand in relation to the surroundings and creates a microcosm of the natural environment within public space, as a reference to the natural landscape of Taiwan, known for its various altitudes and diverse microclimates. Read the rest of this entry »

Thoughtfully designed as a singular form, the competition entry for Cultural Center in, Mexico, by collaborative design team consisting of architects Adrian Yau, Frisly Colop Morales, Jason Easter, and Lukasz Wawrzenczyk merges the concepts of aesthetics and functionality.  The aim was also to create a landmark piece which would eventually become the icon of the city, through subtle yet dynamic form and composition. Simple in its presence and materiality, but monumental in form, the building of Cultural Center seeks to create a city focal point that adapts to the surrounding, establishing itself as the heart of the local community.

Designed as a singular volume, the building is dynamic and active – it significantly changes when viewed from different angles. The northern façade of the building is clad in molten cast glass, therefore providing a preview for the outside crowd – the public is visually connected to the movement of users of the center, through the exhibition halls. The translucency of the glass material highlights the ambient qualities of the interior space. The southern façade, on the other hand, is designed in thoughtful parametric openings, which correspond to the three-dimensional flow of the visitors, connected between each level through the circular staircase. The volume is lower on the southern end, therefore opening up the classrooms to the view of the public. The rooftop above is a garden terrace, designed also to be used as a pre-function space for auditorium. Read the rest of this entry »

Designed by Vancouver-based Bing Thom Architects, the new Xiqu Center will be the first of 17 arts and cultural venues to be opened within the new West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong. Symbolizing the importance and the richness of Xiqu (Chinese opera), the center aims at making this piece of Asian cultural heritage accessible to new audiences. The Center will blend theater, art and public space and host international cultural programs. Like the soft glow of a lantern behind a bead curtain, the Xiqu Center will light up the Eastern entrance of the West Kowloon Cultural District and act as a lantern for Hong Kong. Read the rest of this entry »

Situated in the city of Daqiuzhuang, about 200 kilometers south of Bejing, the DQZ Cultural Center mimics the marshland topography of the area. Built around a large plaza rich in plant life, the Center combines landscape, vegetation and urban space. The atrium typology of the building is derived from the traditional Chinese square. It the case of DQZ Cultural Center, two opposite sides of the building are lifted, creating two entry points to the courtyard.

The center is designed as a public exhibition and community building, integrating a high variety of programs and functions. The inner courtyard of the building creates a protected lush landscape with cherry trees and terraces, which can be used as an outdoor venue for local theater and festival events. The central exhibition space of the building opens up visually through glass facades to the courtyard connecting the interior spaces with the exterior courtyard. Read the rest of this entry »

The new convention center in Yingkou, China, was designed by 2DEFINE Architecture, supported by their local partner Dalian Urban Planning & Design Institute. Located in the northwest province of Liaoning, the sea urchin-shaped building is designed to reflect its natural environment. As a satellite business district of the future harbor, the building, surrounded with outdoor promenades and gardens, aims to be a prominent port location. The oblong building will have no front or back, so it will face all directions to allow 360-degree views. Read the rest of this entry »

The building which will house the future Bordeaux Centre of Wine Culture and Tourism is a giant whirlpool, a decanter shaped by the undulating movement of wine being poured into a glass. Designed in the cooperation between the French architectural firm X-TU Architects and the British Casson Mann, the Cultural Center aims to be a major institution dedicated to the culture and diversity of wine.

Located on the banks of the Garonne river, in the wake of the historic wine trade, the 47 meters high building occupies 10.000 square meters plot. Nearly 4.000 square feet of permanent and temporary exhibition spaces also contain tasting „poly-sensory“ rooms facing the river and overlooking the town and the vineyard. With its wooden structure, the building seeks to honor the sensory experience and flexibility of wine. Read the rest of this entry »