Nanchang Poly Grand Theatre / PES-Architects-卓美

Situated south of Nanchang by scenic Jiulong Lake, the Poly Grand Theatre is set to become the communal cultural hub and landmark of the Jiulong Lake New City urban development zone. PES-Architects’ design for the cultural complex won first prize in the invited international competition arranged by Poly Culture Group Co., Ltd, China’s leading theatre management company.

The underlying design principle for the Nanchang Poly Grand Theatre is a blurred boundary that blends the building into its surroundings, inviting easy access from both the streets and lakeside park as well as the adjacent commercial district.

The building is interpreted as a landscape, with a spatial organisation that allows visitors to experience it as a path offering a series of unfolding scenes, experiences and stimuli.

The main functions of the building – grand theatre/opera hall, multifunctional theatre, and educational and exhibition facilities – are broken down into three separate volumes, circling each other like fish in a pond.

Following the typology of a traditional Chinese village, this creates a variety of indoor and outdoor streets and plazas that allow the free flow of people in and around the building.

The public corridors that cut through the building are designed to draw in a wide range of visitors to enjoy the events and services of the cultural complex throughout the day.

The central, wood-clad passage creates the functional, circulatory and social focal point of the building, with direct access to all the main functions as well as shops and a café. Windows to the functions are cut into the passage walls, providing glimpses of the activities to walkers-by. Pop-up performances can spill out onto the interior plaza through the back stage of the multifunctional theatre, adding to the lively urban atmosphere.The 1,612-seat opera hall is designed in a classical horseshoe layout with two rear balconies.

The undulating, banded interior forms are inspired by the layered topography of the shores of the Jiulong lake system, while providing for optimised acoustic reflections. The 450-seat multifunctional theatre is designed as a highly flexible black box theatre, which can also be used to arrange various events and exhibitions.The wood-veneered facades of the building are partially clad with a ceramic and glass tile matrix as a tribute to the ceramics tradition of the Jiangxi province.

The curtain wall forms a light and lively pixelated surface, also providing protection from the sun.The high-quality materials and detailing and timeless design approach will ensure sustainability through the long life-span and low maintenance requirements of the cultural complex.Energy efficiency in heating and cooling is attained through a heat recovery system where waste heat from continuously cooled spaces is utilised for heating the circulation spaces, while optimised solar protection is provided by the building’s exterior facade pattern..