A 2,000-seat performance venue in Guangzhou. The building takes its origin from two references tied to the city: the physical behaviour of silk and the myth of the Phoenix and the Hundred Birds.
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Reference
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Silk gives the form. Myth gives the surface.
Guangzhou has long been connected to silk production and maritime trade. The project begins with silk as material behaviour: folds, drape, weight and gathering. A second reference comes from the myth of the Phoenix and the Hundred Birds, a story associated with recognition, hierarchy and transformation. Together, these references define the building’s form and its illustrated envelope.
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System
02
The fold becomes entrance, canopy and structure.
Ten twisting folds form the outer envelope. Where each fold meets the ground, the surface tucks inward to create an entrance and canopy. Thousands of perforated aluminium panels carry artwork by Zhang Hongfei across the facade, mapped to the building’s topology so figures occupy peaks, valleys and surfaces rather than sitting on a flat image plane. The cladding is supported by welded steel tubes working with the concrete theatre structure behind.
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Resolution
03
A theatre shaped by cloth, image and performance.
From distance, the building reads as folded red and gold silk. At close range, it becomes a field of figures following the surface. Inside, the auditorium can operate as a conventional theatre or as a 360-degree immersive space with overhead LED screens, acrobatic rigging and a below-stage water system. Exterior and interior are both organised around transformation.
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