studio zhu pei tops china's OCT art center with sweeping concrete curves

studio zhu pei tops china's OCT art center with sweeping concrete curves

Zibo OCT Art Center by studio zhu pei 

 

Emerging from the landscape with dramatic architectural curves, the Zibo OCT Art Center is a new cultural complex designed by Studio Zhu Pei in an open area of the Zhangdian District, far from the city center. The project combines a cluster of porous, ring-shaped, and eaves-out stone volumes topped with concrete roofs and huddled around a central courtyard where semi-outdoor activities unfold. Hugged by an L-shaped reflective pool, the art center also welcomes an almost meditative experience that draws inspiration from traditional Chinese culture. 

 

On a rainy day, semi-outdoor activities are permitted in the corridor. The building is a sponge-like porous building, which can accommodate a large number of people, create a lot of shadows, achieve shading and shelter from the rain…,’ writes lead architect Zhu Pei. 

studio zhu pei tops china's OCT art center with sweeping concrete curves
Zibo OCT Art Center | image © Jin Weiqi 

 

 

elevating spatial tension with rough-textured materials

 

While relatively simple in form, the Zibo OCT Art Center offers surprising spatial effects. Its hyperboloid roof design, for example, creates pleasant tensions indoors. Upon entering the exhibition rooms, visitors get the impression of being in a seemingly rectangular and straightforward space. As they move further in, however, the changes in roof height make certain areas feel tighter and others more expansive, resulting in an almost theatrical sense of movement that celebrates the building’s ‘strength’. 

studio zhu pei tops china's OCT art center with sweeping concrete curves
sweeping concrete curves top the stone volumes | image © Xia Zhi

 

 

Completing the simple yet dramatic structural language is a combination of rough and richly textured materials, namely concrete and masonry stone. The roof is made of rough fair-faced concrete poured on-site, while the walls are built using a masonry stone technique commonly adopted by locals in northern China, especially in the Shandong Province.

 

‘The creative thinking behind Zibo Art Center is a profound experiment focusing on structural form and tectonic expressiveness. Like all my past works, while shaping porous, sponge architecture with wandering experience, it has always fascinated me to explore column-free, horizontally extended structural forms and tectonic expressiveness,’ concludes the architect

studio zhu pei tops china's OCT art center with sweeping concrete curves
main entrance | image © Jin Weiqi

oct-art-center-designboom-25

central courtyard | image © Jin Weiqi

studio zhu pei tops china's OCT art center with sweeping concrete curves
exhibition hall: spatial tension created by changes in roof height | image © Jin Weiqi

studio zhu pei tops china's OCT art center with sweeping concrete curves
concrete, masonry stone, and touches of wood punctuate the interiors | image © Jin Weiqi

oct-art-center-designboom-full-5

multifunctional room | image © Jin Weiqi

studio zhu pei tops china's OCT art center with sweeping concrete curves
a reflective pool borders the complex, exuding a meditative atmosphere | image © Jin Weiqi

studio zhu pei tops china's OCT art center with sweeping concrete curves
evening view of the central courtyard | image © Jin Weiqi

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northeast aerial view | image © Xia Zhi

 

 

 

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image © Jin Weiqi
image © Jin Weiqi
image © Xia Zhi
image © Xia Zhi
sunken courtyard | image © Jin Weiqi
sunken courtyard | image © Jin Weiqi
entrance to multifunctional room | image © Jin Weiqi
entrance to multifunctional room | image © Jin Weiqi
semi-outdoor space | image © Xia Zhi
semi-outdoor space | image © Xia Zhi
image © Jin Weiqi
image © Jin Weiqi
visitors get to enjoy moments by the pool | image © Jin Weiqi
visitors get to enjoy moments by the pool | image © Jin Weiqi
image © Xia Zhi
image © Xia Zhi
image © Jin Weiqi
image © Jin Weiqi
image © Jin Weiqi
image © Jin Weiqi
image © Jin Weiqi
image © Jin Weiqi
image © Jin Weiqi
image © Jin Weiqi

project info:

 

name: Zibo OCT Art Center 

location: Zhangdian District, Zibo, Shandong, China

design year: 2019

completion period: 2019-2020

total area: 2,471 sqm

client: Zibo OCT Group co., Ltd.

architecture & landscape design: Studio Zhu Pei | @studiozhupei

landscape design collaborator: L&A Design@ladesign

design principal: Zhu Pei

design team: Wilson Nugroho Markhono, Yina Luo Moore,
You Changchen, Zhang Shun, Liu Yian, Ji Ming, Chen Yanhong, Liu Ling

structural and MEP: Zibo Architecture Design and Research Institute

facade consultant: King Glass Engineering co., Ltd.

lighting consultant: Ning Field Lighting Design co., Ltd.

general contractor: Taixing No.1 Construction Group co., Ltd.

photography: Jin Weiqi, Xia Zhi

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ARCHITECTURE IN CHINA (1739)

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