A joint entry by Dutch designer MVRDV and China’s Zhubo Architecture Design has won a competition for the Xili Sports and Cultural Centre in Guangdong Province, southeast China.
The project, which was ordered by the Shenzhen Nanshan government, aims to "to transform the lives of the different generations of people living nearby through offering a more humanistic model for sports and culture".
The development will include:
- A 20,000 square metre amphitheater
- A 15,000 square metre basketball and badminton arena
- A 10,000 square metre multifunctional arena
- A 6,000 square metre swimming pool.
The four main buildings all have simple volumes "forming a family of different characters". Each building will have a roof that is "open to all users and suitable for all seasons".
For example, the theatre is located inside an open ball-like envelope. Its stepped green roof can be used as an amphitheatre or outdoor cinema.
Despite the size of the project, MVRDV said it wanted to adopt a "human-centred approach" to it, and to introduce "a more fun, human, social and sustainable model that departs from populist Olympic-sized sports arenas".
Jacob van Rijs, MVRDV’s founding partner, said: "There are many of these types of buildings being built in Shenzhen in a short time, which is an amazing phenomenon in itself, so the idea was to make a collection of atmospheres in this centre so that they can be distinguished from each other."
Work on the project will start in 2017.
Images via MVRDV
