MAD Architects, a highly influential architecture studio, presented in September 2023 the project for the art and culture center to be built in the city of Anji in China, it is intended to be completed and used by 2025. The city of Anji is the only county that has been awarded the “United Nations Habitat Prize” and nominated as the “bamboo” and “white tea” city of China.

The surface of the land that will house the project occupies an area of 149,000 square meters, and the project will consist of 120,000 square meters. Six venues will be housed, including the Grand Theatre, Conference Centre, Leisure Centre, Sports Centre, Youth Activities Center, and Arts Education Centre. The project is established as a meeting space accessible to the public from anywhere and at any time of the day.
The proposal designed by MAD Architects, is located along a visual corridor that allows the space to be converted into an open outdoor platform where visitors can enjoy the landscape.

As the most characteristic element, the center has large roofs that emulate the "bamboo leaves" that surround the green tea fields around Anji. The organization of the complex generates a series of patios throughout the project that function as transitional elements that blur the boundaries between interior and exterior. These spaces between the representations of the bamboo leaves also allow for natural lighting within the center, transparency that will be carried over to the façade, which will be the tallest self-supporting glass wall in China.

The large theater and the conference center will be the only spaces with 2 and 3 floors, since the rest of the spaces will be arranged on a single ground floor, with the addition of a partial first floor.


Anji Culture and Art Center by MAD Architects. Photomontages by MAD Architects.
 

Project description by MAD Architects

MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong has unveiled the design of Anji Culture and Art Center. Located in the Zhejiang Province in southeast China, near Shanghai, Anji is the only county to win the "United Nations Habitat Award" and has been praised as a “bamboo” and “white tea” town of China. The project is designed as a transitional connecting space between the natural and built environments of the region; on the east side lies the city, while the river and the mountains are in the distance on its west side.

Anji Culture and Art Center covers an area of about 149,000 square meters, with a total construction area of about 120,000 square meters. Six venues—including the Grand Theater, Conference Center, Leisure Center, Sports Center, Youth Activity Center, and Art Education Center—are spread out beneath the "bamboo leaves" roof surrounding the green tea fields unique to Anji.

"We pursue the unique aura of this region and integrate it into everyday life,"

Ma Yansong


Anji Culture and Art Center by MAD Architects. Photomontages by MAD Architects.

The project is a porous meeting space that will be accessible to the public from all directions and at all times of the day. It is arranged along the axis of the visual corridor on both sides to allow the central corridor to become an open outdoor platform where visitors can take in framed views of the mountains and the sky above.

The volume of the building is evenly distributed beneath the white tiled roof, whose undulating silhouette echoes the shape of the surrounding hill planted with Anji white tea. Multiple courtyards across the site function as programmatic gaps that dissolve the boundaries between indoor and outdoor space. On the west side of the project, a large stage can be used as an outdoor venue for performances, concerts, and exhibitions.


Anji Culture and Art Center by MAD Architects. Photomontages by MAD Architects.

The high point of Anji Culture and Art Center is a series of overlapping metal roofs resembling scattered bamboo leaves with ridges that add visual complexity to the breathtaking landscape. The gaps between them allow natural light to enter the interior, while the main facade is highly transparent to additionally invite natural light through its side elevations. The main façade is up to 17 meters, which will be the highest self-supporting glass wall in China when it is completed.

The main interior space of the Grand Theater and the Conference Center is a two-to-three-story layout, while the other four venues are a first-floor plus a partial second-floor layout. The auditorium of the Grand Theater can hold 1,300 seats; The main hall of the Conference Center can accommodate 2,000 people for events and meetings. To optimize energy use, the project adopts roof greening, permeable pavement, recessed green space, and rainwater resource utilization.

The Anji Culture and Art Center has begun construction and is expected to be completed and used in 2025.

More information

Label
Architects
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Project team
Text
Principal Partners in Charge.- Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano.
Associate Partners in Charge.- Kin Li, Liu Huiying.
Design Team.- Sun Shouquan, Dong Xue, Li Guangchong, Zhang Xiaomei, Wang Xianbo, Xi Kaiyu, Chen Bohan, Zhao Lilu, Deng Wei, Lin Yijun, Liu Yiqing, Qiao Xuantong, Hao Yue, Zou Dengyu, Jose Maria Urbiola, Wang Zhuyun, Shang Li, Wu Aoqian, Song Chi, Zeng Tianxing.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Collaborators
Text
EPC.- Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd., China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp., Ltd.
Façade Consultant:- Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
Landscape Design (Tea Field + Courtyard).- Earthasia (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Young-High Landscape. Design Consulting Co., Ltd.
Landscape Design (Site).- Wildscape Design Inc.
Acoustic Consultant.- ECADI_Acoustic & Theater Specail Design & Research Studio.
Interior Design.- MAD Architects, Jianfeng Construction Group Co., Ltd.
Theater Technical Consultant, Stage Technology and Conference System Design.- Poly (Beijing) Theater Construction Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd.
Lighting Consultant (Overall + Theater).- Ning field lighting design Corp., Ltd.
Lighting Consultant (Conference + Podium).- Shanghai Ruiyi Environmental Design Co., Ltd.
Signage Design.- NDC CHINA, Inc., City Code (Shanghai) Architecture Design co., LTD.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Area
Text
Site Area: 149,000 sqm.
Building Area: 120,000 sqm.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Dates
Text
September 2023.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Location
Text
Anji, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.

MAD Office, Beijing, China. MAD is a Beijing-based architecture design office dedicated to creating innovative projects. The firm combines a sophisticated design philosophy with advanced technology in addressing and furthering issues in contemporary architecture and urbanity.

The firm has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2006 Architectural League of New York's Young Architects Forum Award.

MAD's ongoing projects include the international competition-winning Absolute Tower in Toronto, Canada; The Tianjin Sinosteel International Plaza, a 320M tall tower in Tianjin, China; the Mongolian Museum in Inner Mongolia, China, and a private villa in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The firm has also won numerous international design competitions, including the 2006 Absolute Tower Competition in Toronto; the 2005 Solar Plaza Competition in Guangzhou, China, and the 2004 Shanghai National Software Outsourcing Base.

MAD's work has been published worldwide, and the office has also presented its designs in a series of exhibitions. In 2006, MAD was shown at the ‘MAD in China' exhibition in Venice during the Architecture Biennial, and the ‘MAD Under Construction' exhibition at the Tokyo Gallery in Beijing. In March of 2007, MAD will be shown at ‘MAD.exe' an exhibition at the Danish Architecture Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ma Yansong, Yosuke Hayano and Qun Dand.

Read more
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...