PROJECT: Cultural and Art Center

Tongchuan China 2013

International Competition 1st Prize

The project is based on an exclusive research about Shaanxi province and Tongchuan itself, in order to make the project integrated with the local culture.

There is an intention to make project accessible from different sides and through the elevated circulation is created a continuity among the surroundings, the project itself and the landscape areas around.

We sank the internal plazas of the complex to provide shelter and intimacy to the users, following the cultural and construction principles which have been used in the area for many centuries, the cave dwellings. This typology in the majority of the cases consists of a plaza, a distribution area and around which are organized different functions such as housing, or public facilities. The bases of the project since the very beginning are rooted in the local culture, construction methods, and the understanding of how locals use the space.

Regarding the program we generate a dynamic and functional organization, which will provide a comfortable and creative platform to serve Tongchuan in the present needs but also for the future. The programs are organized around 2 plazas, which are connected, and continuous. There is a strong relation between the two but also tensions, the different levels and the perception of the elevated circulation turn them into a special moment of the project.