MFA Friday Clip: Finnish Architecture - Review 2020: Fuzhou Strait Culture and Art Centre

MFA Friday Clip series presents videos of the latest biennial review projects. This week theme: Fuzhou Strait Culture and Art Centre by PES-Architects
/
FUZHOU STRAIT CULTURE AND ART CENTRE Fuzhou, China, 2018
PES-Architects
In recent years, European architects have found a new market in China. We can see them in- volved in building projects with great ambitions and large budgets, giving way for qualities re- lated to form and materials that seldom make it beyond the competition stage at home. The Fuzhou Strait Culture and Art Centre with its rich play of exclusive materials and floral orna- ments, is a good example of such a project. It consists of several programmes; a 1,600-seat opera house, a 1,000-seat concert hall, a 700-seat multi-functional theatre, an exhibition hall and a cinema centre, each one of which would be regarded as a grand project itself, if carried out in the Nordic context.
Two things stand out in this project: the expression related to the form of the building, based on an unashamed use of nature metaphors, and the rich use of ceramics. The overall design springs from the jasmine blossom, the official city flower of Fuzhou. This theme is repeated both in plan, with each programme forming a “petal”, and in three dimensions, with the unfolding flower shapes of the complex. Ceramics, an important material for the region, are used in facades and indoor cladding, and even as acoustic panels. Their tactile and ornamental features, as well as qualities related to the form, add a distinct character to the building.
The interiors are well designed and often organic, taking on an almost Gaudi-esque architectural language in the opera house, with undulating curves and flower ornaments. In other spaces, the use of white, glossy ceramics and warm bamboo wood creates contrasts and reflects a high level of detailing.
Text: Martin Braathen / Jury 2020
Video: Jonni Roos, Raimo Uunila
Camera: Raimo Uunila, Atte Henriksson, Samuel Hsuan-yu Shih
Marc Goodwin, Fuzhou New Town Development Investment Group Co., Ltd.
Editing: Raimo Uunila, Camilla Siren
Editor: Jonni Roos
Production: Uuden Avaaja, Grape Prodictions
Subtitles: Museum of Finnish Architecture
Translation: Translatinki Oy
The Finnish Architecture. Biennial Review 2020 exhibition is open until February 28, 2021 in Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki.
In cooperation with Alvar Aalto Foundation and the Finnish Association of Architects, SAFA.

[@alexbrandonlee]

❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉

[@shoreh2004]

WOW ! Congratulation PES-Architects for yet another masterpiece.