Jinan Grand Theatre by Paul Andreu
Paul Andreu spent 40 years designing airports in France and abroad before broadening his CV to include ambitious cultural projects. One of his most notable projects is the Grand National Theatre of China, in Beijing, floating on a man-made lake next to Tiananmen Square. Some 200 miles south, on the route to Shanghai, is Jinan, capital of Shangdong province and site of his Grand Theatre.
Jinan Grand Theatre by Paul Andreu
Paul Andreu spent 40 years designing airports in France and abroad before broadening his CV to include ambitious cultural projects. One of his most notable projects is the Grand National Theatre of China, in Beijing, floating on a man-made lake next to Tiananmen Square. Some 200 miles south, on the route to Shanghai, is Jinan, capital of Shangdong province and site of his Grand Theatre.
Jinan Grand Theatre by Paul Andreu
Facing three snub-nosed towers of varying heights, Andreu has constructed three bulbous glass structures of different volumes to house an opera house, concert hall and theatre. The contours were designed to emulate mountains rising up from an elevated platform, the central part of which is glazed to allow light into the pedestrian plaza below. It is said to adhere strictly to the rules of feng shui.
Jinan Grand Theatre by Paul Andreu
Facing three snub-nosed towers of varying heights, Andreu has constructed three bulbous glass structures of different volumes to house an opera house, concert hall and theatre. The contours were designed to emulate mountains rising up from an elevated platform, the central part of which is glazed to allow light into the pedestrian plaza below. It is said to adhere strictly to the rules of feng shui.
Nanjing Sifang Art Museum by Steven Holl
The China International Practical Exhibition of Architecture (CIPEA) on the outskirts of Nanjing claims highest concentration of big-name buildings in the country. Steven Holl beat David Adjaye and SANAA to complete a project, the Nanjing Sifang Art Museum.
Nanjing Sifang Art Museum by Steven Holl
The China International Practical Exhibition of Architecture (CIPEA) on the outskirts of Nanjing claims highest concentration of big-name buildings in the country. Steven Holl beat David Adjaye and SANAA to complete a project, the Nanjing Sifang Art Museum.
Nanjing Sifang Art Museum by Steven Holl
Holl’s contemporary design takes its basic principles from ancient Chinese art. For a start, its concrete construction makes room for bamboo, which helped form its serpentine structure. The courtyard is paved in ancient bricks. And the monochrome scheme is taken from the art of calligraphy. The visitor experience is meant to cement this feeling of two eras meeting: as the elevated galleries wind around to face east, they culminate in a storey-high window that looks over this designer showcase to the millennia-old city.
Nanjing Sifang Art Museum by Steven Holl
Holl’s contemporary design takes its basic principles from ancient Chinese art. For a start, its concrete construction makes room for bamboo, which helped form its serpentine structure. The courtyard is paved in ancient bricks. And the monochrome scheme is taken from the art of calligraphy. The visitor experience is meant to cement this feeling of two eras meeting: as the elevated galleries wind around to face east, they culminate in a storey-high window that looks over this designer showcase to the millennia-old city.
Shanghai Film Museum by Coordination Asia
Built in the 19th century, this film studio languished for decades before its rehabilitation as a four-storey, 15,000 sq m experiential tribute to Chinese film. Tilman Thürmer of Shanghai practice Coordination Asia designed the cavernous space, dedicating each section to an interactive exhibit, from screening and streaming rooms to real sound stages, vitrines of memorabilia, ‘4D photo albums’, even a mock-up of the city’s iconic Nanjing Road, visible in so many films over the years.
Shanghai Film Museum by Coordination Asia
Built in the 19th century, this film studio languished for decades before its rehabilitation as a four-storey, 15,000 sq m experiential tribute to Chinese film. Tilman Thürmer of Shanghai practice Coordination Asia designed the cavernous space, dedicating each section to an interactive exhibit, from screening and streaming rooms to real sound stages, vitrines of memorabilia, ‘4D photo albums’, even a mock-up of the city’s iconic Nanjing Road, visible in so many films over the years.
Shanghai Film Museum by Coordination Asia
Thürmer ‘art directed’ the interior in a palette of white and black, with grey and metallic accents referring to the silver screen. In each room a play of light and shadow creates a mood that refers back to the medium. Yet it’s the thousands of artefacts, employed to theatrical effect, that steal the show.
Shanghai Film Museum by Coordination Asia
Thürmer ‘art directed’ the interior in a palette of white and black, with grey and metallic accents referring to the silver screen. In each room a play of light and shadow creates a mood that refers back to the medium. Yet it’s the thousands of artefacts, employed to theatrical effect, that steal the show.
