20 Dec 2016
New video tracks Fumihiko Maki's Shenzhen design and arts complex take shape
BY Kim Megson
New video footage has been released showing construction underway on the Sea World Culture and Arts Centre in Shenzhen, China, which has been designed by Pritzker-winning architect Fumihiko Maki.
An official opening date of October 2017 has also been set for the project, which will house the Design Society – a design museum created in collaboration with the UK’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A).
The video footage shows that the structure of the complex – which will be formed of three cantilevered volumes atop a deconstructed plinth – is taking shape. When completed, the building will feature a green public roof from which visitors can look towards the mountains, the sea and the city; described by Maki as “an interconnected space that will enable cultural conversation and dialogue.”
While several tenants will occupy the complex, it is the Design Society that has drawn the most eye-catching component of the scheme.
The museum is the first of its kind between a UK museum and a Chinese partner, and has been initiated as “an open and collaborative platform that will connect China to the world, and empower the inter-connectivity between design and society, design and everyday life, and design and industry.”
The V&A has led the development of a dedicated V&A Gallery devoted to 20th and 21st century international design, and has provided professional advice and training to help main developer China Merchants Shekou Holdings (CMSK) establish “a world class” design institution. Two major V&A touring exhibitions will also come to Design Society in 2018 and 2019 and community design and innovation workshops will be organised.
“Shenzhen has been widely recognised as a hotbed of Chinese creativity and in the last 36 years [since being named a Special Economic Zone] has allowed countless newcomers to apply their ingenuity to build a future and literally design their life,” said Ole Bouman, founding director of Design Society. “By way of our pioneering collaboration with the V&A, this culture of aspiration now meets the richness of international design heritage and the curatorial intelligence of its current leadership.
“The forthcoming opening of Design Society in October 2017 will mean a fantastic showcase of the power of design today.”
The Sea World Culture and Arts Centre will also feature restaurants and retail spaces, a theatre, a multi-purpose hall, a branch of art institution the Guanfu Museum, and learning facilities. The building is the first architectural project in China for Maki’s studio Maki & Associates.
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