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Zong Wu Xu's Strait Culture Art Center emerges from this elevated aerial perspective as a triumphant orchestration of curvilinear monumentality, where five distinct sculptural volumes rise from the…

Strait Culture Art Center by Zong Wu Xu and Pekka Salminen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 Platinum A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Competition Category.


PlatinumArchitecture· 2021

Strait Culture Art Center

by Zong Wu Xu and Pekka Salminen

Client: PES-Architects Ltd & CHINA CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING DESIGN GROUP CO.,LTD.

Platinum A' Design Award Winner in Architecture Category

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Verified Award Winner

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The Design

About Strait Culture Art Center

Strait Culture and Art Center is a cultural complex on the southern bank of the Minjiang River in Fuzhou, China. The center holds a multifunctional theatre, an opera house, a concert hall, an art museum, a film and television center and a central cultural hall. The design is inspired by jasmine, the city flower of Fuzhou. Five main buildings form five white petals, and the Liangcuo River runs between them like a stalk. Ceramics and bamboo, both produced in Fujian, are used for the facades and finishes. The outdoor square, roof platform and waterborne space are open to the public.

The Recognition

About the Platinum A' Design Award

Strait Culture Art Center is a Platinum A' Design Award winner, an extremely prestigious recognition granted to truly exceptional, elegant, and magnificent designs. Platinum winners are marvels of creation, testaments to the limits of intellectual creativity, and demonstrate the unmatched professionalism and genius of their designers. These designs are expected to be the most renowned works that define the aesthetics of an era, contribute to the well-being of society, and push the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Strait Culture Art Center exhibits a transcendent level of excellence and unequivocally makes the world a better place with its advantageous and worthwhile characteristics. Strait Culture Art Center is a Platinum A' Design Award-winning work that triggers desires, inspires, excites, delights, and sparks great joy.

Where to Get It

Comprehensive Architectural and Urban Design Services

We deliver world-class architectural solutions for cultural centers, urban developments, and large-scale infrastructure projects. With Grade A qualifications across construction engineering, urban planning, and landscape design, our multidisciplinary team transforms ambitious visions into iconic structures. From concept through completion, we integrate innovative design with technical excellence.

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Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
This case, with a gross floor area of 153,000㎡ on the southern bank of the Minjiang River in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, is a cultural complex composed of a multifunctional theatre, opera house, concert hall, art museum, film and television center, and central cultural hall.
Dimensions & Packaging
Total Area : 152601.48 square meters
Tags
Architect, Flower, Unique, Comfort, Economy
Production Technology
The center is built with Chinese traditional materials of ceramics and bamboo. Ceramics originated in China, and bamboo is the symbol of the Chinese spirit and endowment. More importantly, Fujian is one of the producing areas of ceramics and bamboo, which saves a lot of cost for the production and transportation of materials.
Design Challenge
This project is built along with the local flood control facilities by renovating and widening the floodway, and making the Liangcuo River a part of the whole architecture. It has reserved a space for future connection with the subway, filling the gap of public traffic lines in the region. The project has also opened the outdoor square, roof platform and waterborne space to the public, and integrated with the Minjiang landscape system to form a space for immersive urban cultural experience.
Research
In order to avoid any subtle invisible cracks, the louvers are subjected to rigorous manual and machine tests, and German wind tunnel tests.
Inspiration
The center is an innovative expression of Chinese traditional culture. Its design is inspired by jasmine, a world-renowned symbol of Chinese culture, as well as the city flower of Fuzhou. Five main buildings constitute five white jasmine petals, through which runs the Liangcuo River like a flower stalk. Several small petals make up a waterborne platform that goes deep into the Minjiang River. Together, they build up a magnificent Chinese picture featuring "blossoming jasmine flowers over a moonlit river".
Project Duration
The project was located in Fu Zhou, China. It was finished in August 2018.
Operation Flow
On the basis of expressing cultural innovation, this project has realized the unity of technology and art. More than 40,000 ceramic rods are used on the front facade of the outer curtain wall, while 36,000 ceramic plates are applied for the back facade. The project has hence been hailed as the largest ceramic curtain wall building in the world.
Team Members
Zong Wu Xu , Pekka Salminen , Martin Lukasczyk , Yu Hui Song , Yue Xing Tang , Wei Xing Dong , Zong Rui Chen , Lin Li Lai
Image Credits
Yong Zhang, Marc Goodwin

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