Sustainable Change Models of Innovation in Architectural Design
- Mark Lafond, RA
- Sep 26
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 6
The Yangjiang Cultural Center, completed in 2023, stands as one of China’s most forward-looking cultural projects. Designed by the Architectural Design & Research Institute of South China University of Technology (SCUT) in collaboration with Yifang Design Group, this center exemplifies how architecture can merge public functionality, regional identity, and smart technologies into a holistic civic landmark. Positioned beside Moyang Lake Park, the project forges a connection between culture, ecology, and urban life in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province. Covering a gross floor area of 35,634 square meters, the Cultural Center consolidates seven separate public institutions into one integrated complex while employing state-of-the-art climate-responsive design and advanced construction systems.
Architectural Vision
The design centers on the concept of “seven halls in one,” which combines the Archives Center, Party History Museum, Local Records Museum, Hall of Fame, city museum, Planning Hall, and Workers’ Cultural Palace. Instead of scattering these facilities across different sites, the project integrates them into a single building, optimizing land use while creating a unified civic identity. The central atrium forms the spatial heart of the complex, connecting the institutions both vertically and horizontally, while also functioning as a climate-moderating public hall. This model of functional integration enhances accessibility and fosters interdisciplinary interaction among cultural facilities that might otherwise remain isolated.
The form of the center draws inspiration from Yangjiang’s geographical character as a city of mountains and sea. The white upper volumes evoke waves and sails, while the green podium and landscaped terraces suggest mountain slopes. This conceptual synthesis provides the building with a distinctly regional identity while also presenting it as a modern cultural hub for the city.
Site and Urban Context
The Cultural Center is strategically located on the edge of Moyang Lake Park, an established ecological zone and urban green space. Rather than standing apart from the landscape, the building embraces the terrain with a podium covered in green slopes and public terraces. This podium serves as an accessible platform that blends seamlessly with the lakefront, providing public amenities such as cafés and bookbars. This strategy eliminates the typical boundary between cultural buildings and their surroundings, making the center an extension of the park and inviting citizens to integrate cultural activities into their daily lives.
The building also addresses the challenge of urban density. By stacking seven major civic institutions vertically and connecting them through a central circulation system, the project minimizes land use in a growing city while maximizing the availability of public green space.
Passive Climate Design
Yangjiang’s subtropical coastal climate, characterized by high humidity and intense sunlight, necessitated innovative climate strategies. The Cultural Center employs a patent-protected ceramic rod curtain-wall system as its primary environmental control feature. These glazed terracotta baguettes, installed in vertical arrays across the façade, provide shading, reduce solar heat gain, and filter daylight. Each rod is parametrically adjusted in angle and spacing based on computational solar simulations, ensuring that shading performance is optimized at different times of the day and year.
The atrium further enhances thermal comfort by functioning as a ventilated cavity. Operable windows and strategically placed openings allow for cross-ventilation, while the adjacent lake and surrounding vegetation create a natural cooling effect. During milder seasons, mechanical systems can be minimized, thereby lowering operational energy demand.
Materials and Façade System
One of the defining features of the Cultural Center is its curtain-wall cladding system. The façade is constructed of white glazed terracotta rods, each measuring approximately 400 by 120 by 900 millimeters, mounted vertically on fluorocarbon-coated steel supports. This system achieves both aesthetic and environmental performance. Visually, it creates a sense of motion reminiscent of sails catching the wind, a motif resonant with Yangjiang’s maritime culture. Functionally, it provides a parametric shading solution that adapts to different solar angles while also generating a dynamic play of light and shadow across the building.
The façade was designed and executed in partnership with Yazhong Curtain Wall Technology Co., Ltd., ensuring technical precision and durability. This element of the project demonstrates how advanced construction technologies can align with symbolic architectural expression.
Landscape Integration
The podium of the building is not merely a structural base but an ecological and social landscape. Its sloping green roofs and terraces extend Moyang Lake Park onto the building, creating biophilic connections for users. The rooftop gardens double as rainwater retention systems, contributing to the city’s sponge-city initiatives by absorbing and recycling stormwater. These terraces are open to the public, encouraging visitors to engage with the building casually, even without entering the interior cultural institutions. By integrating landscape and architecture, the project blurs the line between cultural building and urban park, a design choice that enhances inclusivity and accessibility.
Interior Design and Public Space
The central atrium organizes circulation and creates a monumental interior space flooded with natural light filtered through the façade. Large-scale staircases connect the levels, encouraging movement and interaction between the different cultural institutions. The interior design, managed by Dongsan Interior Design Studio, emphasizes flexibility and clarity. Public gathering spaces are deliberately generous, accommodating exhibitions, performances, and informal cultural activities.
The atrium staircase extends outward into a public ramp, connecting to the rooftop garden and providing citizens access to panoramic views of Moyang Lake. This continuity between interior and exterior strengthens the building’s role as a civic landmark.
Smart Building Features
The Yangjiang Cultural Center incorporates several technological innovations that align with the principles of smart building design.
Parametric façade optimization: The terracotta rod system was designed through solar simulation and computational modeling to maximize shading efficiency and daylight quality.
Natural ventilation strategies: Sensors and operable windows adjust airflow based on temperature and humidity conditions, reducing reliance on HVAC systems.
Green roof systems: These provide not only insulation but also stormwater management, supporting the city’s resilience to flooding.
Rainwater harvesting: Integrated rooftop collection systems store and redistribute water for irrigation of the green slopes and terraces.
Energy-efficient lighting: Daylight harvesting reduces artificial lighting demand, while smart control systems ensure efficient operation.
Building management systems (BMS): Centralized controls monitor climate, lighting, and energy performance across the seven cultural institutions.
These features mark the project as a technologically advanced civic building, designed not only for cultural significance but also for environmental performance.
Innovations in Public Engagement
One of the most remarkable aspects of the Yangjiang Cultural Center is its emphasis on community activation. Many civic buildings risk becoming isolated monuments that citizens visit only occasionally. In contrast, this project integrates cafés, bookbars, and recreational terraces into the podium, encouraging daily use. The public rooftop provides leisure space with views of the city and park, accessible even outside institutional operating hours. By prioritizing openness, the building redefines the cultural center as a living, breathing part of the city rather than a detached object.
Regional Identity and Symbolism
Symbolism plays a central role in the project’s architectural language. The design references Yangjiang’s identity as both a coastal and mountainous region. The upper massing resembles sails, waves, and clouds, while the podium mimics the contours of mountains. This dual identity reinforces a sense of place and resonates with local citizens, grounding the building in its cultural and geographic context. Unlike generic civic centers, the Yangjiang Cultural Center becomes a recognizable landmark tied intimately to its location.
Cost and Economic Considerations
Although official construction cost figures have not been disclosed, the project’s integration of seven separate institutions into one building provides significant long-term savings for the city. Shared systems such as HVAC, lighting, circulation, and digital infrastructure reduce operational costs. The passive strategies, including shading, ventilation, and green roofing, further cut energy expenses over the building’s lifecycle. The combination of functional efficiency and smart building systems ensures that the Cultural Center will be economically sustainable for decades.
Conclusion
The Yangjiang Cultural Center represents a new model for cultural architecture in China: integrated, environmentally intelligent, symbolically rich, and publicly accessible. By clustering multiple civic institutions into one structure, the project maximizes land efficiency and promotes interdisciplinary engagement. Its parametric façade, passive ventilation, and green roofs make it an exemplary case of climate-responsive design. At the same time, its podium and rooftop invite citizens to participate casually in cultural life, redefining what a civic landmark can be. The collaboration between the Architectural Design & Research Institute of SCUT and Yifang Design Group has produced a building that embodies the cultural, ecological, and technological aspirations of Yangjiang in the twenty-first century.
Construction Costs and Specifications
Gross Floor Area: 35,634 m²
Year Completed: 2023
Location: Yangjiang, Guangdong, China
Architects: Architectural Design & Research Institute of SCUT, Yifang Design Group
Interior Design: Dongsan Interior Design Studio
Curtain Wall Contractor: Yazhong Curtain Wall Technology Co., Ltd.
Façade System: White glazed terracotta baguettes (400 × 120 × 900 mm), mounted on fluorocarbon-coated supports
Primary Features: Central atrium, parametric façade shading, green podium, rooftop gardens, seven integrated civic institutions
Construction Cost: Not publicly disclosed
References
ArchDaily. “Yangjiang Cultural Center / Architectural Design & Research Institute of SCUT + Yifang Design Group.” ArchDaily, 2023.
Jidipi Architecture. “Yangjiang Cultural Center by SCUT + Yifang.” Jidipi, 2023.
LOPO China. “Yangjiang Citizen Culture and Art Center Complex – Façade Terracotta Baguette System.” LOPO China, 2023.
World Architecture News. “Yangjiang Cultural Center Recognized for Innovative Civic Design.” WAN Awards, 2023.
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