Atelier Apeiron tops arched cultural centre with terraced roof garden

Architecture studio Atelier Apeiron has completed the Hengqin Culture and Art Complex in Zhuhai, China.

The 142,560-square-metre building in China's southern city of Zhuhai contains a library, theatre and museum, all topped with a terraced roof garden.

Located next to a green park surrounded by residential towers, the building was designed to integrate three organisations into a single complex.

Atelier Apeiron created a stepped-down form with a rooftop terrace stepping down from 36-meters high to a height of 24 metres facing the waterfront.

The stacked rooftop creates three platforms, offering stunning views to the surrounding nature, and green space for community activities.

The lowest platform is designed as a children's theme park featuring sand pits, play facilities, restaurants, and cafes.

Staff canteens and garden space are located at the middle platform for visitors and employees to rest and relax.

Two spiral staircases invite visitors to the top platform, where they will first meet with a bamboo garden that forms part of a rain garden with a variety of green plants.

Three arches of different shapes on the ground floor, each lead to a hall that serves different function.

"Arches have been embraced as a critical form of architecture since the beginning of time and are prevalent in both eastern and western culture," explained Atelier Apeiron lead architect Yunchao Xu,.

"To create strong structures with available materials, arches have been used to convert shear force in a horizontal direction into vertical force, ensuring that all points of the structure carry a shared load."

The Knowledge Hall with the tallest arch houses a library. The Performance Hall in the middle contains a large open stage and black box theatre, where dance, music, theatre, and opera shows will be performed.

The Exhibition Hall, defined by a series of circular skylights like "cheese holes", will host exhibitions focused on art and science.

The arched ceilings within all three halls were lined with wood and bamboo panels, with the aim of adding warmth to the overall complex.

Glazed skylights within each hall weer designed to allow plenty of natural lighting the spaces.

On the waterfront facade a cantilever shelters a sunken, semicircular plaza that doubles as a stage and auditorium, where weddings, birthday parties and corporate events will be organised.

"Our vision is for the Hengqin Culture and Art Complex to be a vibrant, three-dimensional vertical city that will host millions of tourists each year, as well as a growing community of local residents, while seamlessly connecting with its surrounding environment," added Xu.

Based in Shenzhen, Atelier Apeiron is founded by Xu in 2009 and is a subsidiary of Shenzhen General Institute of Architectural Design and Research.

Elsewhere in China, Zaha Hadid Architects have completed Beijing's largest convention centre with copper-coloured fluid shapes, while Aedas created an infinity loop-shaped museum in Hangzhou.

The photography is by Shengliang Su, unless stated otherwise.

Project credits:

Lead architect: Yunchao Xu
Designers/Architects team: Jiachuan Qi, Hongrui Liu, Kan Gao, Guohong Li, Zhendong Shi, Jianxuan Chen, Shengjie Zhang, Kun Qian, Kai Liao, Zheng Xu, Zhen Shen
Technical designer CAD: SZAD
Contractors: Zhuhai Gree Construction Investment Co
Constructors: Zhuhai Jianan Group Co
Engineers: SZAD
Interior designers collaborators: Ruan Bin Design
Landscape architects: GVL Green View Landscape Group
Lighting consultant: GD Lightning
Acoustics consultants: Zhongfutai Architecture Construction Co
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning: SZAD

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