sweeping concrete cutouts shape ZAO’s sculptural art center in rizhao

a concrete art center emerges from china’s wooded hillside

ZAO / Zhang Ke Architecture Office has completed the Rizhao Community Art Center in China‘s Shandong province, where a sculptural concrete structure rises from a wooded hillside beside a small lake. The building appears to hover above the landscape, its heavy upper volume supported at three corners while sweeping, eye-shaped openings carve through the level beneath. From a distance, its curved surfaces seem to extend the contours of the surrounding terrain.

Located in Bailuwan, also known as Egret Bay, the project forms part of a larger residential and resort development along China’s Yellow Sea coast. Conceived as a cultural destination for the surrounding community, the center brings exhibition spaces together with areas for public gatherings and performances. Its unusual arrangement places the galleries underground, leaves the central level open to the landscape, and introduces a series of courtyards above.

curved beams open the ground floor to the landscape

A network of deep, curving concrete beams supports the upper level, transferring its weight through three structural cores that also accommodate the stairways. This allows the architects to leave much of the ground floor open, with broad openings extending toward the grassy slopes. The concrete ceiling rises and dips overhead, creating an expansive sheltered space that changes in height as visitors move through it.

Footbridges connect this central level with the surrounding roads and pathways, while its northeastern side opens toward the lake. Designed to accommodate outdoor cinema, theater performances, and community events, the space can also be used simply as a place to pass through or gather. With access from several directions, the building becomes part of the landscape’s circulation, offering a public space beneath its substantial concrete roof.

sweeping surfaces enclose a series of hidden courtyards

The building’s exterior is formed from cast-in-place concrete, with insulated double-layer walls that retain the grain of their timber formwork. The horizontal impressions lend texture to the large curved surfaces, particularly along the underside of the structure. At the junction between the upper and lower volumes, a narrow opening allows glimpses of the surrounding greenery to enter the otherwise enclosed concrete stairwells.

Moving upstairs, visitors encounter a very different spatial experience. Here, the structural framework defines a sequence of trapezoidal courtyards and smaller community rooms, arranged along winding passages. Inspired by the inward-facing spaces of traditional Chinese gardens, the upper level alternates between enclosed interiors and pockets of open sky. An accessible rooftop terrace eventually opens the building back toward the surrounding forest and lake.

underground galleries follow the contours of the terrain

Beneath the grassy hillside, the center’s exhibition spaces are reached by a gently sloping concrete ramp. The gallery level follows the existing topography, with a sculptural ceiling that echoes the changing contours of the ground above. Structural elements divide the interior into interconnected spaces, allowing visitors to move between more enclosed rooms and wider areas for displaying art.

Across these different levels, ZAO uses the same concrete structure to create distinctly different encounters with the landscape. The upper courtyards offer sheltered spaces for reflection, while the central floor remains exposed to the surrounding terrain. Below, the galleries turn visitors’ attention toward art within the hillside itself. Together, these spaces give the community a building that can be explored as readily as the landscape around it.

project info:

name: Rizhao Community Art Center

architect: ZAO (ZhangKe Architecture Office) / standardarchitecture

principal architect: Zhang Ke
location: Rizhao, Shandong Province, China
completion: 2024
area: 2,525 square meters
client: Bailuwan Group Design
structural, MEP consultant: China Architecture Design Research Group Co.
photography: © Finn Chiu | @finnzhf