07 Jul 2021
Designs unveiled for MAD Architects-designed Aranya Cloud Center
BY Tom Walker
Designs have been revealed for a flexible, multi-purpose events centre which will have the appearance of a "cloud floating by the sea".
Designed by MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong, the “Cloud Center” in Qinhuangdao, China, will offer a new multi-purpose public space for Aranya – one of China’s most vibrant seaside arts and culture communities.
Situated close to the scenic Beidaihe coastline in the north east of the country, the building will be able to host a variety of functions.
Facilities include a press conference room, small theater, and exhibition space. Externally, the scheme is surrounded by a sculpted landscape imagined as a “white stone garden.”
The building appears as a floating cloud – when viewed from a distance – thanks to its polished, reflective form activated by the changing light, sky, and landscape.
The aesthetic of the building is achieved through a façade of hyperbolic white stained glass, creating a seemingly floating form when viewed from afar. The form is made possible through a series of monumental structural overhangs, with the largest reaching 30 meters in length.
As a result of these overhangs, the solid white mass of the building appears to float over a predominately glazed ground floor, when viewed either inside or outside.
The “cloud’s” massing is balanced and suspended from the building’s central core, which provides support for the entire structure and makes its column-free interior space possible.
The building’s primary internal space, the main, multi-purpose room, extends skyward through a swirling ceiling.
Above the spaces, a series of skylights allows ample natural light into the interior to enhance the building’s energy efficiency.
Construction of the Cloud Center is now underway and the project’s civil construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2021, with the entire project completed and opened in 2022.
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