Nanhai Cultural Center

Add To Collection

Nanhai Cultural Center

Firm

Pei Partnership Architects, LLP

Type

Cultural › Cultural Center

STATUS

Concept

SIZE

1,000,000 +

Project brief:
Nanhai Cultural Center, Guangzhou Foshan, China

Client: Land Urban Construction and Water Conservancy Bureau of Nanhai District, Foshan City, Guangzhou, China

International Design Competition, About 90 teams worldwide submitted for the first stage prequalification and 5 teams were selected to enter the second stage design submission. The design proposal by Pei Partnership Architects, LLP in collaboration with Guangzhou HSArchitects was selected to be the winner of the project.

The Nanhai Cultural Center total project size is 130,000m², with 90,000m² above grade and 40,000m² below grade. The program for this cultural complex consists of Library, Arts Exhibition, Science Exhibition, Urban Development, Sports Facilities, Performance Halls, Juvenile Activities, Elder Activities, Comprehensive Cultural Activities, etc.
The project site is north-south 400m long, east-west 150m wide, facing the 2.2 km Qiandeng Lake Park scenery. Bounded by heavy traffic roads and subways and bus station transit hubs, the design challenge is not merely the architectural building design, but also the urban fabric planning.

Principal Concept:

我们希望藉由回到原初点，静静地回想你我共有的文化是如何慢慢地被积累成形。经由小心检视的过程，不急着妄下定论，来找到一个根植于南海当地气候、风土人情的建筑形塑模式，并且是符合文化形成的本质空间。
We would like to retrospect to the origin, and ponder the amalgamation of our different customs into a single coherent collective as the culture we embraced. Through careful inspection rather than hasty judgement, we search for the prototype deeply rooted in the local climate and customs of Nanhai, which corresponds to the intrinsic methodology of culture formation.

文化创造的主体是人民，是每个不同之个体，经由频繁的交流、沟通所产生之生活及价值观之共同认知。因此，能提供居民自由交流活动之空间是文化形成本质之所需。而重要的是，能不拘于固定形式之活动广场。就“空间”而言，空旷之 “空” 之重要性不下于具实体之“间”。如同中国传统书画之讲究留白均衡，有时刻意之留白，才能成就实体区域之确实存在。
Culture is cultivated by each individual of the society through frequent interaction with others and contributes to a collective cognition of the values in life and belief. Hence, the space which enables the people to gather and exchange ideas freely is the key element of the formation of culture. Most importantly, it shall be an open assembly space without predefined programs. The concept of space in the Chinese language describes that the open void is no less important than the physical being. Similarly, Chinese calligraphy emphasizes a balanced void and stroke, sometimes even a deliberate void that complements the stroke to enhance its existence.

基于这样的理解，以及对于基地城市纹理之对话，我们梳理出，南海文化中心之中心区域，应是一个二十四小时开放给当地居民大众之“空”的，通透但却有遮蔽的市民广场，文化中心的中心区域完全回馈给市民，才是真诚的建筑答案。
Based on the perception of cultural formation and the dialogue with the contextual urban fabric, we conclude that the central space of Nanhai Cultural Center should be a "void" that provides a welcoming gesture to the public at all times: a 24-7 opened yet sheltered “New Civic Plaza”. Thus, the most essential core area of the cultural center is dedicated to the open public and it shall be a sincere architectural response for the community.

开放的、新的通透之市民广场概念确定了，这样的通透之中心思想便随之贯彻整个规划设计。南海文化中心需要的不是一个巨大集中之建筑单体，而应该是单元化的、尺度合宜的，能让当地吹的东南向风顺畅地拂过，能让炙热的阳光不会肆无忌惮地加诸于居民及建物，具连廊骑楼形式之遮蔽空间，以及小心反应太阳日照角度的立面处理方式，理解先人之智慧来处理建筑执行上之细节，才真的是能以最经济有效率之方式达到永续生态之节能建筑，也是我们执之为守的信念。
Once the principal concept of an open and linked central “New Civic Plaza” is determined, the core feature of such open-connection is carried through the entire building planning strategy. The Nanhai Cultural Center must not be the mega concentrated architecture. Instead, it calls for a “decentralized” unit typology at a proper scale that allows the prevailing southeastern wind to breeze through each unit, and adopts local arcade typology which offers shaded area to protect occupants from the blazing sun, and the facade design reacts carefully to solar angles. In our belief, through carefully examination of the wisdom in vernacular architecture we inherited from our ancestor and transform the methodology with contemporary approach is the key to achieve the truly sustainable architecture.

岭南的山，岭南的水，岭南的云，伴随着传统民居之记忆，在取其意而不取其形的概念下，我们试着为南海人添加一些诗意。将云海山水下之岭南映照在南海人新的文化中心，将之默默地小心保存下来。
Capturing the mountain, the river, and the cloud of Guangzhou Lingnan region along with the imprint of local traditional dwellings, we try to elevate the poetic grace in the project for Nanhai through implementation of the metaphysical instead of the physical form. The historical heritage are carefully interpreted and preserved in the New Nanhai Cultural Center for generations to come.

Design team:
Pei Partnership Architects LLP as lead designer with Guangzhou HSArchitects.
Pei Partnership Architects LLP team:
• Chien Chung Pei, partner in charge
• Cheng-hsun Wu, Principal in charge
• Chulhan Jung, project manager
• Keonwoo Kim, designer
• Chloe Pu, intern
Guangzhou HSArchitects team:
• Qunning Xu, project director
• Guangde Shi, project manager
• Xin Liu, project architect
• Zhiheng Liu, designer
• Rongjun Lee, designer

Product Spec Sheet

Were your products used?

Join as a manufacturer to add your products.

Collaborating Firms

Was your firm involved? Add it now.

Team

Were you involved? Add yourself.

Keep Exploring Architizer by Creating a Free Account or Logging in.

Nanhai Cultural Center

Nanhai Cultural Center

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team