Yinzhou Cultural Activity Center for Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China

Led by Professor Peter Tagiuri and Mr. Hao Ru Chen, London design firm Association of Ideas and Hangzhou, China-based firm Citiarc won an invited competition for a 30,000 sq.m. public activity center in Ningbo, China. Planned on the site of an existing village, the center will include educational, commercial, sports, administration, and performance spaces, as well as public gardens and riverfront plazas. Major elements of the design strategy include a sustainability emphasis, scaling up the traditional Chinese courtyard for civic use, reusing local materials, and referencing the pre-existing village. Team members included Patrick Beins, Allison Coley, Cai Jun, and Huang Ze. Other invited competitors included Studio Pei Zhu from Beijing, Professor Bernhard Winking from Hamburg, Architect Tang Hua from ShenZhen, and ZhongJian Guoji Office from Beijing. Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2007.