The project is formed by five crystal shaped marble clad volumes that come together to form a singular development representing the cultural heart of the city’s urban core. The resulting composition of buildings creates a large-scale shaded urban park that can host a series of external activities.

“Foshan is a beautiful and very green city”, says Schmidt Hammer Lassen partner Chris Hardie, “and the city’s population really engage with outdoor life. The weather is such that it’s really too hot during the day, so park spaces really only come alive at night once the temperature has dropped. Our proposal aims to create a shaded space that will encourage this activity to happen during the day and to also complement the active programs in the Library, the Museum, and the Exhibition and Education spaces.”

Under the current development strategy for the Nanhai District Government, the eastern edge of the city is rapidly urbanizing and becoming a densely populated area, providing quality cultural amenities has become an important agenda for the city.

The site for the project is located adjacent to the Qiandeng Lake Park which forms an important green space in the city. As a popular destination for the community, the park provides large areas of shaded areas where a variety of outdoor public activities and events take place. SHL’s proposal aims to extend these park activities into the site and accommodate a variety of cultural, civic and social programs for the community.