MAD architects' floating 'cloud center' nears completion in aranya

the cloud center: construction progresses

In China’s port city of Aranya, Qinhuangdao, the MAD Architects-designed ‘Cloud Center’ nears completion. Led by Ma Yansong, the team sculpts the project as fluid, white monolith which will house a public art space for the ‘bustling artistic seaside community.’ Programs will including a grand hall, a gallery and a small theater, all consolidated within a footprint of just over 2,500 square meters (27,000 square feet). The new iconic landmark will stand at the center of a larger landscape conceptualized by MAD as a ‘white stone garden.’

visualization courtesy MAD | see designboom’s previous coverage here

a floating gallery in aranya

The team at MAD Architects design the Cloud Center as a singular part within a larger garden context. This site comprises a reflective pond and a garden, and is surrounded by woods. Overall, the project will be a ‘peaceful dreamscape’ envisioned by Ma Yansong, who took inspiration from the ‘shape and lightweight appearance of clouds.’ To achieve this expression, the team engineers the main volume to appear as though it is floating above the surrounding landscape.

This ‘floating’ effect is made possible with an array of structural overhangs embedded within the envelope as an internal space frame. The architects explain: ‘The main and secondary truss suspensions are welded to the steel structure of the core, the largest of which are nearly 30 meters in length. By doing that, the gallery is almost entirely column-free to allow a wide variety of functions to occur while concealing its means of structural support.

‘The optimized curtain wall system and its complex curvilinear geometry creates a smooth finishing with limited amount of double-curved glass embedded within the envelope under an anticipated construction cost.’

image by MAD

mad architects’ ethereal structure

The team continues: ‘The main volume is clad in a curtain wall of white glass panels that have been tempered, laminated and laser-printed to reflect the sunlight, sky and verdant landscape that surrounds it, which was also designed by MAD Architects as a tranquil oasis that contrasts the busy city life just beyond its perimeter; like a real cloud, the building will take on the colors of the sky throughout the day thanks to its glossy paneling system.



‘When visitors walk from the windy road to the main entrance of the Cloud Center, they are met with a large pond that reflects the underbelly of the white structure, as though it was just like the many clouds in the sky above it, to produce a stunning multiplication of reflective surfaces.’

image by Zhu Yumeng

responding to its seaside context

‘As the Center is located close to the sea, it is important to have protection from sea wind erosion by developing a robust waterproof and thermal insulation layer below the curtain wall as it covers the majority of the main volume, aside from an egress and a series of skylights. Also, a number of gaps between the façade panels were designed for water collection and drainage purposes to prevent water from stagnating on the building’s envelope.

‘The ‘floating’ effect is further accomplished by the use of floor-to-ceiling glass on the ground floor beneath it, where the grand hall occupies the majority of the building’s footprint. Because of the same structural space frame that supports the gallery, the grand hall is also virtually column-free, thus allowing the space to be animated by the efforts of the community and the reflective pond toward the entrance.’

image by MAD

‘Beyond the copious natural lighting achieved by the wraparound glass, a number of lights are embedded within the sculpturally swirling ceiling of the grand hall. When the occasion calls for these main spaces to be subdivided into smaller spaces — for everything from intimate exhibitions, theatrical performances and conferences — a number of non-load-bearing movable walls are capable of configuring into a wide variety of compositions. The Aranya Cloud Center is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in 2023.’

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image by CreatAR

image by CreatAR

image by Dang Qun

image by CreatAR

 

 

project info:

project title: Aranya ‘Cloud Center’

architecture: MAD Architects | @madarchitects

location: Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province, China
timeline: 2019-2023

site area: 3,853 square meters
building area: 2,579 square meters

photography: Zhu Yumeng, CreatAR, Dang Qun

principal partners in charge: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate in Charge: Liu Huiying, Kin Li
Design design team: Liu Hailun, Chen Hungpin, Li Gang, Edgar Navarrete, Yin Jianfeng, Pittayapa Suriyapee, Luis Torres, Chen Yi-en, Zhang Chao

client: Shijiazhuang Pharma Group, Aranya
executive architect / structural design: Zhongke (Beijing) Architectural Planning & Design Institute Co., Ltd.
façade consultant: RFR Shanghai, King Glass Engineering Co., Ltd.
landscape design consultant: Beijing Sunshine Landscape Co., Ltd
interior design consultant: Montaigne Design Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd.
lighting consultant: Lighting Stories (Beijing) Cultural & Creative Co., Ltd.
signage design: Beijing Junyi Rongchuang Cultural Communication Limited Company
stage consultant: Beijing Yaxun Yingda Technology Development Limited Company
acoustic consultant: Beijing Huaxin Sifang Architectural Technique Limited Company