html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled design for a new culture and art centre featuring large, wavy, and sloping roofs in Shaoxing, China.Called Zhejiang Shaoxing Shangyu District Caoe River Culture and Art Centre, the project serves as the foundation for the new cultural district in Shaoxing, China's Zhejiang province's Shangyu District.The Art and Culture Center, which has a 1,400-seat Grand Theatre, a 500-seat Black-Box Multifunctional Hall, a 2,900-square-meter Arts and Education Center, a 3,000-square-meter Conference Center, a 7,500-square-meter Heritage Museum, and a 10,000-square-meter Digital Art Gallery, will be built to accommodate regional and international opera, dance, and drama productions in addition to large-scale symphonies and musical theater.Bridge approach. Image courtesy of ZHAThe Culture and Art Center's covered courtyards, which are situated on the banks of the historic Caoe River, are an extension of the building's interior.Residents and visitors to Shaoxing can enjoy a range of natural parklands and gardens for leisure and recreation along the river thanks to these outdoor meeting areas that flow into terraced landscapes that encircle the center and connect directly to the city.Render ProloogWithin the region's vernacular architecture, the design honors the rich history and craftsmanship of glazed tiles upon pitched roofs by integrating various levels of public spaces and technical equipment to stage dance and theater acts within the center's courtyards and foyers.Informed by the region's ancient architecture, the Cultural and Art Centre creates a fresh yet recognized shape with its interconnected roof composition that flows above the eternal river sceneries.Render ProloogThe center's facades are a modern interpretation of the famous jade-green Celadon ceramics, which were made in the area about 1,200 years ago at the start of the Northern Song Dynasty.Thus, a 21st-century cultural structure with a clear link to the area's ancient past is defined by the cogent integration of traditional materials and avant-garde architecture.Courtyard view. Image AtchainThe core of ZHA's creative thinking, architectural expression, and design language is sustainability. The design's huge sloping roofs, which contain vast overhangs around the periphery of each venue in response to Shaoxing's subtropical monsoon environment, effectively shade the glass faades that open onto covered outdoor courtyards that stretch into the landscape.In order to generate self-shading zones that efficiently reduce solar heat gain within the structure and shade the outdoor courtyards during the summer, the roofs' geometries were specified by a solar study of the site during each season.Riverside. Render TegmarkPhotovoltaic panels integrated into the roof will allow the Cultural and Art Center to drastically cut down on its energy consumption from the municipal electricity grid, while the roofs' distinctive forms extend lower and farther on the center's southern faades to provide optimal protection from the stronger solar radiation.Heritage Museum. Render ZHATheatre. Render TegmarkRoofs. Render ProloogDropOff. Render ProloogRoad Approach. Render AtchainAerial masterplan. Render AtchainZaha Hadid Architects revealed design for its first project in Malaysia, the plans are developed in collaboration with JLand Group Sdn Bhd (JLG). In addition, the firm began construction on lemiste Passenger Terminal in Tallinn, Estonia. In addition, ZHA shared an update about the construction of West Kowloon Terminus in Hong Kong. Finally, ZHA won a competition to design Riga Ropax Terminal in Latvia.Project factsClient:Shaoxing Shangyu Urban and Rural Ecological Environmental Protection Development Co., LTDThe Consortium: Zaha Hadid Limited (trading as Zaha Hadid Architects) and Central-South Architectural Design Institute Co., LtdDesign Lead:Zaha Hadid Limited (trading as Zaha Hadid Architects)Principal Architect: Patrik SchumacherChief Architect: Paulo FloresCommercial Director: Charles WalkerProject Leaders: Yazhu Liang, Saman DadgostarCompetition Project leaders: Yazhu Liang, Jakub Klaska, Saman Dadgostar, Sven TorresFaade Lead: Edgar PayanZHA Design Team: Barbara Schickermueller, Berkin Islam, Charles Liang, Chen-Ru Sung, Fangxingchi Du, Gerhild Orthacker, Gizem Dogan, Hao Wen, Jinhee Koh, Karina Linnsen, Paul Joseph, Rishil Parikh, Stefan Manousof, Yuxuan ZhaoZHA Support Team: Tyson Hosmer, Ziming He, Baris Erdincer, Bahaa AlnassrallahLocal Design Institute, Structure, Engineering, MEP, Quantity Surveyor:Central-South Architectural Design Institute Co., Ltd (CSADI)Theatre Planning and Acoustic Consultant:ARUPTop image in the article: Elevation River Proloog.> via ZHA News