Immersive Theater and Museum in China

Typologies:

Public and Cultural Facilities;

Redevelopment & Heritage

Status:

Concept

Year:

2020

Location:

China, Kaifeng

Area:

4 900 m²

Awards:

2020. Golden Trezzini

Saint-Petersburg. 1st place

2020. WAF China

Guangzhou. Audience Choice Award

About the concept

The project began with an in-depth analysis of the city, which served as China's capital in the 1st–2nd centuries. Following an innovative reconstruction approach and drawing inspiration from local culture and traditions, the concept is built on the confrontation of two dragons—one hiding underground, the other soaring freely in the sky—guardians of ancient Kaifeng's secrets and embodiments of one of China's oldest cultural symbols.

The first dragon is an installation of red lanterns suspended beneath the ceiling of the theater's main hall, which is sunken into the ground. The "dragon" invites people to plunge into the unknown—to immerse themselves in a theatrical performance or public event.

The Kaifeng historic center project includes the reconstruction of a theater where the hall walls, like the facade shells, transform to open the space to the street, reflecting contemporary Chinese architectural approaches and adapting the historic center project to public needs