A Beacon of Growth and a Bastion of Arts and Culture

Yunchao Xu/Atelier Apeiron unveiled its work on the 142,560m² Hengqin Culture & Art Complex, a community focal point in one of China’s fastest growing cities, built to serve the entire Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The Hengqin Culture and Art Complex held an opening lighting ceremony on September 14, 2024, and entered the trial operation stage. The complex will be fully open by July 2025.

Library, performance center and art hall
Photo credit: Schran Image

Night view from the watefront
Photo credit: Position

Library with book mountain
Photo credit: Position

A Long Road to Realization

In the more than a decade that has followed Chinese government approval of the massive and ambitious urban development of Hengqin Island, sitting at the crossroads of the Pearl River and South China, billions of dollars in investments have poured into the project referred to as the ‘Hengqin New Area’. Dozens of major projects are being developed, all within walking distance of Macau, and only 34 nautical miles from Hong Kong. In the center of it all, the 106-square kilometer island is a new addition to the populous region, with clusters of developments targeting the high-profile sectors of culture, creativity, and knowledge.

Gateways of Arts and Culture

The site of the Hengqin Culture & Art Complex is wedged between existing residential towers and an open city park, and Atelier Apeiron devised a strategy for creating an energetic complex capable of accommodating a multifunctional future. As part of that strategy, the firm espoused an architectural approach defined by large-scale porosity, adapted to the high-density urban context of the site’s surroundings.

Natural light in library
Photo credit: Schran Image

Skylights in the art hall
Photo credit: Schran Image

Overall view at night
Photo credit: Yipeng Lv

On the lower level of the complex, Apeiron applied a geometric concept of inverted catenary to create three magnificent arches of differing shapes, articulating an architectural language that combines Chinese and Western elements. Each arch serves as a gateway to a different hall that is unique in both character and program. To draw natural light into the inherently dark spaces, the firm cut a skylight above the arches to form connections with the rooftop gardens, and also incorporated two diffuse reflectors that direct soft sunlight into the rooms. Composed of wood and bamboo panels, the arches provide a window of transparency between the facility and its surrounding urban life. By day, visitors will enjoy unobstructed external views of the adjacent park, while nights will be illuminated by the soft lighting emitted by the transparent arched halls, forming a stage background for a variety of public events to be held in the park.

Main facade from the park
Photo credit: Schran Image

Night view from the mountain towards Macau
Photo credit: Yipeng Lv

Waterfront view
Photo credit: Shengliang Su

Above the archways, modular space units have been integrated into the design to ensure maximum flexibility options for a wide variety of future programs. Additionally, small spaces have been integrated into the arch joints to house equipment and building services.

Overall view
Photo credit: Schran Image

Main facade in daylight
Photo credit: Yipeng Lv

Background of the park
Photo credit: Schran Image

A Diversity of Atmospheres

With the massive complex designed to house nine distinct functions - a library, an archives center, a concert hall, a cultural center, an art gallery, a science museum, a women's and children’s activity center, an elderly activity center, and a youth activity center - Yunchao Xu/Atelier Apeiron endeavored to desegregate the experience in order to create a truly communal sense of being. Designed as three urban living rooms, each arch leads into a unique space, comprising a Knowledge Hall, a Performance Hall, and an Exhibition Hall.

Three arches in the twilight
Photo credit: Schran Image

Three arches in the twilight
Photo credit: Schran Image

Horizontal vs vertical
Photo credit: Schran Image

In designing the Knowledge Hall, the firm drew inspiration from the Oodi library in Finland, where the function of the library has progressed beyond being just a space for reading services. Taking the concept of traditional libraries to new heights, the Knowledge Hall will feature a vertical village of crystal book blocks and will become a focal point of urban public activity.

Reflection on the facade
Photo credit: Schran Image

View from the park
Photo credit: Schran Image

Top view of the roof gardens in the evening
Photo credit: Yipeng Lv

The adjacent Performance Hall serves as a cultural performing arts center, with a large open stage and black box theater designed for productions of dance, music, theater, and opera. Finally, the Exhibition Hall is defined by its porous space, where strategically placed ‘cheese holes’ invite scatters of mysterious natural light into a space conceived as a host venue for exhibitions of art and science. Together, the three halls offer visitors a range of parallel world experiences, all within the confines of a single complex.

Sunken plaza under the cantilever
Photo credit: Schran Image

South facade
Photo credit: Hao Zhang

Southwest facade
Photo credit: Yipeng Lv

Integrated Landscape and Vistas

With its inspirations often derived from nature, Yunchao Xu/Atelier Apeiron has incorporated natural prototypes into its design of the Hengqin Culture & Art Complex, including terraces, caves, and cliffs. A stacked, four-story arrangement of rooftop platforms provides stunning public views from serene environments, with living green balconies overlapping the urban structure, like park settings for hosting community-based events. In designing the gardens, the firm conducted multiple studies to ensure optimal sightlines from each of the platforms.

Night view
Photo credit: Position

Book mountain
Photo credit: Schran Image

Performance center
Photo credit: Schran Image

The base platform includes a semicircular stage and a circular auditorium, where the Macau Wedding Company will organize large-scale weddings, birthday parties, corporate team building activities, and much more. At 24-meters, a platform designed as a children's theme park features sand pits, expansive play facilities, restaurants, museums, and family cafes. At 30-meters, another platform provides a shared garden, with the addition of staff canteens and cafeterias for employees to rest and enjoy their environment. Finally, rising 36 meters, a rain garden platform serves as an environmental zone, integrating ecology, a low carbon footprint, and green technologies as a sort of ecological laboratory. A spiral staircase invites visitors to ascend to a bamboo garden, where serenity and quiet moments can be experienced while enjoying a cup of tea adjacent to the Sky Bookstore.

Yunchao Xu/Atelier Apeiron

Based in Shenzhen, China, Yunchao Xu/Atelier Apeiron is a firm comprised of creative international architects and designers. The word “Apeiron”, derived from ancient Greek, encapsulates the firm’s design philosophy marked by continuous thinking, rethinking, research, and practical applications of architecture. Leveraging the Shenzhen Architectural Design Institute (SZAD) platform, Yunchao Xu/Atelier Apeiron provides professional services in the fields of architectural design, urban, interior, product, and graphic design. The firm prides itself in crossing boundaries, disciplines, and topologies in pursuit of adventurous project outcomes that reconnect humanity with its natural surroundings.