Jinghe New City is growing as a science and technology hub north of Xi’an in China's Shaanxi province. It is becoming a centre for developing industries focussing on new energy and materials, artificial intelligence and aerospace.
The Jinghe New City Culture & Art Centre will be located within the Jinghe Bay Academician Science & Technology Innovation district of the city.
ZHA’s winning entry is designed to echo the meandering valleys carved by the Jinghe River through the mountains and landscapes of Shaanxi province. The centre’s design intertwines with the city’s existing urban masterplan to connect the new multimedia library to the north of Jinghe Avenue with the new performing arts theatre, multifunction halls, studios and exhibition galleries to the south via elevated courtyards, gardens and paths that span the avenue’s eight lanes of traffic below.
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, said ZHA. It will also bring the city’s residents into the heart of the building and providing direct access to the planned metro station.
ZHA said that the centre is organised as a series of flowing volumes, layers and surfaces interconnecting with courtyards and landscapes to defines a sequence of interior and exterior cultural and recreational spaces for the 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. The library will integrate print publications together with immersive virtual reality technologies.
Located on the southern side of the avenue, the performing arts theatre will accommodate 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.
The centre has been designed to optimise the use of natural ventilation and daylight in the mild temperate climate of Jinghe New City. It will incorporate photovoltaic panels for on-site power generation and rainwater collection. The centre’s construction will prioritise locally-produced materials with a high recycled content to achieve a three-star certification in China’s Green Building program.
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