Chinese studio Group of Architects has completed the Yada Theatre near the city of Yixing, with ceramic and wood finishes that reference the region's bamboo forests and heritage of pottery production.
Shanghai-based Group of Architects (GOA) designed the theatre to be a cultural landmark for the new town of Yangxian Xishan, a development intended to revitalise the rural areas surrounding Yixing.
Surrounded by a hilly landscape including some 400 hectares of Bamboo forest, the building draws on traditional Chinese gardens, with a cluster of light, mono-pitched forms broken up by small public courtyards.
Group of Architects has completed the Yada Theatre near Yixing
"The architecture is envisioned as a porous sponge that absorbs and embraces visitors and the surrounding environment," explained the studio. "This layout is an anti-gentrification design strategy that discards the over-enclosing space and exclusive function of conventional theatres to provide community services for the surrounding residents, such as public gatherings, cultural events and leisure activities," it continued.
"It presents the ground space in a communal, open and accessible manner that encourages people to be involved in the space by roaming between the architecture and nature."
It comprises a series of mono-pitched forms
The roofs of the building rise upwards to face out towards the landscape, with skylights and areas of full-height glazing flooding its interiors with l...