studio zhu pei tops china’s OCT art center with sweeping concrete curves

the structure combines a cluster of ring-shaped and eaves-out stone volumes huddled around a central courtyard.

lea zeitoun October 27, 2022 4 min

Zibo OCT Art Center by studio zhu pei

Emerging from the landscape with dramatic architectural curves, the Zibo OCT Art Center is a new cultural complex designed by Studio Zhu Pei in an open area of the Zhangdian District, far from the city center. The project combines a cluster of porous, ring-shaped, and eaves-out stone volumes topped with concrete roofs and huddled around a central courtyard where semi-outdoor activities unfold. Hugged by an L-shaped reflective pool, the art center also welcomes an almost meditative experience that draws inspiration from traditional Chinese culture.

‘On a rainy day, semi-outdoor activities are permitted in the corridor. The building is a sponge-like porous building, which can accommodate a large number of people, create a lot of shadows, achieve shading and shelter from the rain…,’ writes lead architect Zhu Pei.

studio zhu pei tops china's OCT art center with sweeping concrete curves - 1 — Zibo OCT Art Center | image © Jin Weiqi

elevating spatial tension with rough-textured materials

While relatively simple in form, the Zibo OCT Art Center offers surprising spatial effects. Its hyperboloid roof design, for example, creates pleasant tensions indoors. Upon entering the exhibition rooms, visitors get the impression of being in a seemingly rectangular and straightforward space. As they move further in, however, the changes in roof height make certain areas feel tighter and others more expansive, resulting in an almost theatrical sense of movement that celebrates the building’s ‘strength’.

studio zhu pei tops china's OCT art center with sweeping concrete curves - 2 — sweeping concrete curves top the stone volumes | image © Xia Zhi

Completing the simple yet dramatic structural language is a combination of rough and richly textured materials, namely concrete and masonry stone. The roof is made of rough fair-faced concrete poured on-site, while the walls are built using a masonry stone technique commonly adopted by locals in northern China, especially in the Shandong Province.

‘The creative thinking behind Zibo Art Center is a profound experiment focusing on structural form and tectonic expressiveness. Like all my past works, while shaping porous, sponge architecture with wandering experience, it has always fascinated me to explore column-free, horizontally extended structural forms and tectonic expressiveness,’ concludes the architect.