CULTURE

3つのアーチが織りなす都市のゲートウェイ

成長する都市の生活とつながる文化公共施設〈横琴文化芸術複合施設〉

CULTURE 2025.07.06

〈横琴文化芸術複合施設（Hengqin Culture & Art Complex）〉設計：アトリエ・アペイロン（Atelier Apeiron）

中国・広東省深圳市の横琴島（おうきんとう）に建つ〈横琴文化芸術複合施設（Hengqin Culture & Art Complex）〉は、図書館や文化センターといった9つの文化・教育機能を統合した、地域の新たなランドマークとなる文化公共施設です。

深圳を拠点に活動する設計事務所アトリエ・アペイロン（Atelier Apeiron）が設計しました。

注目ポイント

「都市の生活ホール」として構想された生活に紐づく公共空間

中国と西洋の建築言語を融合した3つのアーチ

アーチ空にはそれぞれ図書館、劇場、展示といった異なる機能を統合

テラス・洞窟・断崖など自然の要素を組み込んだ屋上空間

（以下、アトリエ・アペイロンから提供されたプレスキットのテキストの抄訳）

都市の生活ホールとして構想された、9つの機能を統合した複合施設

中国で最も急速に成長する都市の1つに位置する〈横琴文化芸術複合施設〉は、「広東・香港・マカオ大湾区の生活ホール」というコンセプトのもとに設計された建築である。

2018年、アトリエ・アペイロンは中国政府が主催するプロポーザルに勝利し、香港とマカオに次ぐ中国第3の成長都市とされる深圳における「横琴文化芸術複合施設」の設計案を提出した。

アトリエ・アペイロンのリードアーキテクト、ユンチャオ・シュウ（Yunchao Xu）は、設計時の課題について次のように語る。

「複合施設には9つの部門があるが、それぞれの要件は独立しており、矛盾に満ちていた。我々は9つの独立した建物を単一の複合施設に統合するという視点からアプローチし、各部門に相対的な独立性を与えることで、矛盾を解決し、公共の活力を刺激する包括的な戦略を推進した。」

〈横琴文化芸術複合施設〉のユニークな立地は、設計上の多くの課題を提示した。特に、夏に台風が多発する地域特性により、風圧への対策が不可欠であった。設計チームは、軽量で柔軟性に優れた懸垂式ガラスカーテンウォールを最適解とし、採用に至った。

さらに、亜熱帯気候の島に広がる地盤には泥層が存在し、安定性の確保が重要な課題となった。そのため、設計チームは地下室を密封された支持空間として設計し、アンカーポイントを設けることで構造全体の強度を担保した。

都市に開かれたアートと文化のゲートウェイ

〈横琴文化芸術複合施設〉は、タワーマンションと都市公園に挟まれた敷地に立地する。アトリエ・アペイロンは、多機能な未来に対応できる活気ある複合施設を創造する戦略を考案し、その戦略の一環として、高密度な都市環境に適応した大規模な透光性を特徴とする建築アプローチを採用した。

都市と施設をつなぐアーチ

複合施設の低層部では逆懸垂曲線を採用し、形状の異なる3つの壮大なアーチを創造し、中国と西洋の要素を融合させた建築言語を表現している。

各アーチは、性格とプログラムが異なるホールへのゲートウェイとして機能する。暗がりの空間に自然光を導くため、同社はアーチの上部に天窓を切り出し、屋上庭園との接続を確立した。さらに、部屋内に柔らかい日光を導く2つの拡散反射板を組み込んだ。これにより、大規模な空間に自然光を取り入れるという課題も解決した。

木と竹のパネルで構成されたアーチは、施設と都市生活との間に透過的な境界を形成する。昼間には隣接する公園の風景を室内から望むことができ、夜間にはアーチから放たれる柔らかな光が公園の公共イベントの背景を彩る。

また、アーチの上部にはモジュール式の空間ユニットを組み込み、将来的な多様なプログラムに対応する高い柔軟性を確保している。加えて、接合部には設備スペースや建物サービス空間も統合されている。

9つの異なる機能（図書館、アーカイブセンター、コンサートホール、文化センター、アートギャラリー、科学博物館、女性と子どもの活動センター、高齢者活動センター、若者活動センター）を収容する大規模な複合施設を設計するにあたり、アトリエ・アペイロンは、体験を分離することで真のコミュニティ感覚を生み出すことを目指した。

「都市型リビングルーム」として構想されたそれぞれのアーチは、ナレッジホール、パフォーマンスホール、エキシビジョンホールという3つの主要空間へとつながっている。

知的活動のハブ「ナレッジホール」

ナレッジホールの設計では、〈ヘルシンキ中央図書館 Oodi〉から着想を得た。同図書館では、図書館の機能が単なる読書空間を超えて進化している。伝統的な図書館の概念を新たな次元へ昇華させたナレッジホールは、都市の公共活動の焦点となるだろう。

多様な文化芸術に対応する「パフォーマンスホール」

隣接するパフォーマンスホールは、ダンス、音楽、演劇、オペラなどの公演に対応する文化芸術センターとして機能し、大規模なオープンステージとブラックボックスシアターを備えている。

光と空間が交錯する「エキシビジョンホール」

最後に、エキシビジョンホールは多孔質な空間が特徴となっており、戦略的に配置された「チーズホール」が神秘的な自然光を散りばめる、アートと科学の展示会場として設計されている。3つのホールは、単一の複合施設内に並行する世界体験を提供する。

統合されたランドスケープとパノラマ

自然から着想を得たアトリエ・アペイロンは、〈横琴文化芸術複合施設〉の設計に自然のモデルを組み込み、テラス、洞窟、断崖などの要素を採用した。

積み重なる4層の屋上プラットフォームは、静かな環境から絶景を望む公共のスペースを提供し、コミュニティイベントを開催する公園のような空間を創出している。

以下、アトリエ・アペイロンのリリース（英文）です。

Hengqin Culture & Art Complex: A Beacon of Growth and a Bastion of Arts and Culture
Hengqin, Xiangzhou, Zhuhai, China
Yunchao Xu/Atelier Apeiron

Commercial Architecture, Commercial Interior Design, Culture, Garden + Terrace, Institutional Architecture, Institutional Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design

Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, 2025-04-25 – Yunchao Xu/Atelier Apeiron is proud to unveil 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. On the third anniversary of the establishment of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone, this building, adhering to the design concept of “Shanshui Hengqin, the Living Hall of the Grand Bay Area”, will be gradually opened to the public before the end of the year.
The complex will be fully open by July 2025.

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.

The beating heart of a newborn city
In 2018, Atelier Apeiron won a competition launched by the Chinese government to field proposals for building the Hengqin Culture & Art Complex as part of a vibrant new community in China’s third-fastest growing urban center after Hong Kong and Macao. The firm’s winning proposal centered around its embrace of a new and innovative approach to the massive nine-block development.

“The complex houses nine departments, but the requirements for each of them were independent and filled with contradictions,” explains Yunchao Xu, lead architect of Atelier Apeiron. “We approached it from the perspective of integrating nine independent buildings into a single complex, and we convinced the client to give each department relative independence in order to proceed with a comprehensive strategy that resolves conflicts and stimulates public energy.”

Innovative responses
The unique setting of the Hengqin Culture & Art Complex was not without its challenges. The region’s status as a typhoon-prone area in summer was a challenge requiring special considerations, including numerous wind-resistant material comparisons before deciding upon a light and flexible suspended glass curtain wall as a particularly efficient solution. Another challenging element was how to introduce natural light into such large volumes.

Being on an island with a sub-tropic climate, the foundations of the expansive complex also presented a challenge, with a natural layer of silt that can cause stability issues. In response, the firm designed a basement as a sealed support space with anchor points to ensure maximum strength throughout the structure.

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.

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.

“Arches have been embraced as a critical form of architecture since the beginning of time and are prevalent in both eastern and western culture,” explains Yunchao Xu. “To create strong structures with available materials, arches have been used to convert shear force in a horizontal direction into vertical force, ensuring that all points of the structure carry a shared load.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

“The modular design of the complex ensures that each of the nine pavilions has its own distinct spaces, and the three large halls follow that same rationale,” says Yunchao Xu. “Our vision is for the Hengqin Culture & Art Complex to be a vibrant, three-dimensional vertical city that will host millions of tourists each year, as well as a growing community of local residents, while seamlessly connecting with its surrounding environment.”

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.

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.

A glittering landmark in a new skyline
Extending from a hill to the north, to a river to the south, the catenary curve of the Hengqin Culture & Art Complex has created a new skyline landmark.

With the design of the the Hengqin Culture & Art Complex, Yunchao Xu/Atelier Apeiron has embraced the experience of the multidisciplinary design process to evolve in its practice. In close collaboration with material scientists, botanists, climatologists, acoustic experts, and many other experts, the firm’s experience and expertise has now been infused with a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of designing such large-scale cultural complexes.

“This project is a milestone for our firm, and it opens new avenues for us to design innovative architecture in the future, based on more multi-dimensional thinking,” concludes Yunchao Xu. “It has motivated us to expand the definition of architecture, and to push the boundaries of traditional design.”

Technical sheet
Project Name: Hengqin Culture & Art Complex
Location: Hengqin island, China (Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone)
Client: Zhuhai Gree Construction Investment Co,. Ltd.
Project Sector/Typology: Cultural
Project Start: 2018
Project Completion: 2024
Total area: 142,560 m² (1,534,503 pi2)

Architecture Firm: Yunchao Xu/Atelier Apeiron
Lead Architect: Yunchao Xu
Designers/Architects team: Jiachuan Qi, Hongrui Liu, Kan Gao, Guohong Li, Zhendong Shi, Jianxuan Chen, Shengjie Zhang, Kun Qian, Kai Liao, Zheng Xu, Zhen Shen
Technical Designer CAD: SZAD
Contractors: Zhuhai Gree Construction Investment Co,. Ltd.
Constructors: Zhuhai Jianan Group Co,. Ltd.
Engineers: SZAD
Interior Designers collaborators: Ruan Bin Design
Landscape architects: GVL Green View Landscape Group
Lighting consultant: GD Lightning
Acoustics Consultants: Zhongfutai Architecture Construction Co., Ltd.
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning: SZAD

Sustainable components:
– Local sourcing and procurement
– Reusing materials
– Lower carbon footprint
– Economically sustainable
– Less air conditioning
About 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. Time and space are thoughtfully applied to revelations of inner beauty, contributing to a more poetic built environment.

From urban development to rural revitalization, the innovative work of Yunchao Xu/Atelier Apeiron has been recognized with numerous awards, including prizes presented by the WAN Awards 2022 (UK), Deezen Awards 2022 (UK), World Architecture Festival Awards 2022/2021 (UK), Architizer A+ awards 2019/2020/2021/2022 (USA), and many more.

アトリエ・アペイロン公式サイト
http://www.atelier-apeiron.com/Projects/info.aspx?itemid=64

3つのアーチが織りなす都市のゲートウェイ