Mecanoo’ Three Cultural Centers & One Book Mall in Shenzhen will provide Longgang District with its own landmark, transforming the existing Longcheng Plaza into a lively destination point. The complex comprises a vast bookshop, public art centre, youth centre, science centre and parking spread over four volumes.
The fluid forms of the four volumes support the flow of passers-by through the area and create dynamic viewing lines. Large arched passageways between adjacent volumes act as sheltered public event spaces, allowing the various interior programmes to extend outdoors while formally symbolising openness and connection. The elongated complex will act as an urban connector, unifying the evolving urban fabric and generating a vibrant downtown.
The project won the 2016 Architectural Review MIPIM Future Projects Award in the category Cultural Regeneration. Once finished, the 99,000 m2 sized cast-in-place concrete building with a structural facade will measure 365 m long, 45 m wide, and 24 m tall.
Due to the volumes' angled exterior walls and the floor-to-ceiling height requirements for the interior spaces, 90 to 95 percent of the structure is designed in cast-in-place concrete. The structural facade, in combination with “Super cores" - much larger than traditional concrete cores – allow for vast column-free open spaces in the volumes' centres. The largest super core is that of the public art museum, and measures 45 m in length.
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