Ma Yansong, founder, MAD Architects / Image: MAD Architects
MAD Architects has unveiled the design for a waterfront arts centre featuring a museum, theatre and sports centre in Foshan City, Guangdong, China.
Spanning 120,000sq m, the mixed use Nanhai Art Center has been designed to resemble a continuous wave, with three separate buildings set under canopies inspired by the traditional architecture of Lingnan, the larger area in which Guangdong is located.
Led by MAD Architects founder Ma Yansong, Nanhai Art Center will be a “new public gateway” to the waterfront and a creative, cultural hub for the citizens of Guangzhou and Foshan.
The development is located in Nanhai Cultural District, the heart of the Guangdong-Hongkong-Macao Greater Bay Area, an urban site that bridges the cities of Guangzhou and Foshan.
“The traditional culture of Nanhai is in the drum beat and boat drift during the dragon festival boat race and in the kung-fu, in the lion dance,” said Ma Yansong. “Watching them, you can feel the dynamic, vibrant and innovative spirit from ancient times. We want to bring that spirit back to modern living here.”
The design is arranged around a central axis, with the 89,269sq m museum and grand theatre on one side, and the 32,000sq ft sports centre set slightly apart on the other. The Grand Theatre will include a 1,500-seat amphitheatre and a 600-seat multi-purpose hall, suitable for varied performances and conferences. Further details of the museum haven’t yet been released.
“The local culture of southern Guangdong is about the gathering of people,” said Ma Yansong, adding that the creation of new contemporary cultural facilities is important to support this traditional culture.
“The design of the Nanhai Art Center wants to provide the maximum grey spaces for such activities,” said Yansong.
Sustainable features include solar panels, a rainwater collection system and vertical greening systems. The roof will be made from translucent ETFE, which will allow natural light to enter the complex, reducing energy consumption on lighting and heating.
The site will also feature viewing platforms overlooking the lake.
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Ma Yansong, founder, MAD Architects / Image: MAD Architects
MAD Architects has unveiled the design for a waterfront arts centre featuring a museum, theatre and sports centre in Foshan City, Guangdong, China.
Spanning 120,000sq m, the mixed use Nanhai Art Center has been designed to resemble a continuous wave, with three separate buildings set under canopies inspired by the traditional architecture of Lingnan, the larger area in which Guangdong is located.
Led by MAD Architects founder Ma Yansong, Nanhai Art Center will be a “new public gateway” to the waterfront and a creative, cultural hub for the citizens of Guangzhou and Foshan.
The development is located in Nanhai Cultural District, the heart of the Guangdong-Hongkong-Macao Greater Bay Area, an urban site that bridges the cities of Guangzhou and Foshan.
“The traditional culture of Nanhai is in the drum beat and boat drift during the dragon festival boat race and in the kung-fu, in the lion dance,” said Ma Yansong. “Watching them, you can feel the dynamic, vibrant and innovative spirit from ancient times. We want to bring that spirit back to modern living here.”
The design is arranged around a central axis, with the 89,269sq m museum and grand theatre on one side, and the 32,000sq ft sports centre set slightly apart on the other. The Grand Theatre will include a 1,500-seat amphitheatre and a 600-seat multi-purpose hall, suitable for varied performances and conferences. Further details of the museum haven’t yet been released.
“The local culture of southern Guangdong is about the gathering of people,” said Ma Yansong, adding that the creation of new contemporary cultural facilities is important to support this traditional culture.
“The design of the Nanhai Art Center wants to provide the maximum grey spaces for such activities,” said Yansong.
Sustainable features include solar panels, a rainwater collection system and vertical greening systems. The roof will be made from translucent ETFE, which will allow natural light to enter the complex, reducing energy consumption on lighting and heating.
The site will also feature viewing platforms overlooking the lake.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2024 issue 1
Interview: Fons Jurgens
Big changes are coming for much-loved Dutch theme park Efteling, with the launch of a Grand Hotel and major new attraction. Its CEO lets us into the plans
Museums: Ones to watch
Some seriously exciting new museums are taking shape across the globe. We highlight some of our favourites
Museums: Josh Kirk
As Copenhagen’s Home of Carlsberg relaunches after a five year revamp, the project design lead tells us how ground-breaking technology was used to bring the brand to life
Technology: AI – friend or foe?
How can attractions best exploit AI technologies? What are the dangers? What does the future hold? We get an expert opinion
Technology: Future shock
What can we learn from operators currently using AI? Lesley Morisetti gets some tips from early adopters
Museums: Jacqueline Springer
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Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
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