Zaha Hadid Architects to design a meandering Jinghe New City Culture & Art Centre

A proposal from Zaha Hadid Architects has been named the winner of an international competition to deliver a new cultural and arts destination inside the Jinghe New City technology hub in Shaanxi Province.

Their design features a stacked program of galleries and multipurpose performance spaces, a library, a 450-seat theater, and studio accommodations. It will strive for a three-star rating under China’s Green Building certification metric and connect to the wider urban area via its meandering pedestrian entryways. 

Per ZHA: “With gently sloping ramps providing a gateway to the district’s network of elevated public walkways, the centre weaves through the city to link its commercial and residential districts with the parks and river to the south, while also bringing the city’s residents into the heart of the building and providing direct access to the planned metro station.”

“Organized as a series of flowing volumes, layers, and surfaces interconnecting with courtyards and landscapes, the design defines a sequence of interior and exterior cultural and recreational spaces for its community. The multimedia library’s terraces overlook its full-height atrium with diffusing skylights to provide a variety of public reading zones for individual and collective research. [...]

Located on the southern side of the avenue, the performing arts theatre accommodates 450 people and can be adapted for many types of events. The multi-function hall, studios, and galleries are stacked and arranged around the theatre to share public areas designed to enhance accessibility and inter-disciplinary collaboration."

Additionally, the firm says it will use mostly locally-produced materials in addition to installing a photovoltaic array to help further enhance other environmental features like rainwater collection.

Other recent urban commissions by ZHA include the new Rail Station project for the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius and Zugló City Centre in Budapest. No project timeframe was available in the press announcement. Archinect will share additional updates as they become available.