An invited competition by Metamode.

A proposal for a new Gallery and Cultural Centre for Nanshan, a district in the Shenzhen special economic zone. Nanshan, traditionally known as Nantou, was is a traditional fishing village focussing on the oyster and pearl industries.
The port of Nanshan was the first to be developed with the special economic zone in 1981. Since this time the city has developed rapidly with virtually no traces of its previous incarnation evident. The city that has emerged is around the port is characterised by its inauspicious architectural language and and unremarkable cityscape.
The building responds to this setting by reconstructing a new version of the city in its reflective and shimmering facade. Through the blandness of the city context a new architectural icon emerges.
The new Cultural Centre is intended to serve the Nanshan district. There is an art gallery, opera house, theatre and exhibition spaces.
Total building area 12,000 sq m.
Construction cost £28.5m.