MAD Unveils Shenzhen Bay Culture Park

According to MAD's announcement of their design, the Shenzhen Bay Culture Park is just one of "ten new cultural facilities spearheaded by the Shenzhen city development," each of which plays a role in Shenzhen's goal of becoming a "city of culture with global influence." The city is known mainly for its high-tech industry, and the site of the project in the Houhai area is bordered by towers home to Alibaba Cloud, Huawei, Tencent, and other players in "China's Silicon Valley."

The design by MAD Architects responds to these two conditions: the urban backdrop and the waterfront. Much of the 182,000 square meters of program spaces (exhibition halls, public education space, library, auditorium, theater, café, etc.) is spread across a ground level that is covered by an extension of the park. Pebble-like structures stick up from this landscape to give the project its iconic imagery.

The Shenzhen Bay Culture Park is expected to be completed in 2023.