MVRDV win competition for 'fun and human-centric' Shenzhen sports and culture complex
– Jacob van Rijs
Dutch architects MVRDV have won an international competition to design a sports and cultural complex in Shenzhen, China, which will be navigated via a weaving elevated walkway.
The Nanshan district government has tasked the studio, and local firm Zhubo Architecture Design, with creating “a social and wellbeing focal point” for the community in the country’s fastest-growing urban region.
Located in a residential area which stretches between two mountain parks, the Xili Sports and Cultural Centre will bring together a wide range of activities in a new experience centre. There will be four distinct volumes: a 20,000sq m amphitheatre; a 15,000sq m basketball, badminton and fitness arena; a 6,000sq m swimming pool and wellness building; and a 10,000sq m multifunctional sports arena featuring facilities for volleyball, table tennis and football among other sports.
Locals and visitors will be encouraged to use each facility, travelling between them via the elevated running, which will wind in and out of all the volumes. Each building will also have an activated roof open to all users through all the seasons, hosting things like outdoor cinema screenings.
The concept of MVRDV’s design was to introduce a “fun, human, social and sustainable model” that meets the rising demand for sports and fitness facilities while departing from the Olympic-sized, high density arenas currently being built across the region.
“There is now a need for a more human-centred approach,” said the studio. “The challenge was to go from bigness to compression through understanding urbanism.”
Founding partner Jacob van Rijs added: “The idea was to make a collection of atmospheres in this centre so that they can be distinguished from each other. We wanted to combine a large-scale sports stadium with a social aspect connecting it with the community.
“This was achieved by arranging different volumes on the site around a new diagonal green bridge linking the metro station in the south with the Tanglan mountains in the north. This centre is a stage for different users, mixing nature, sports and culture.”
MVRDV have designed a number of projects merging culture, fitness and wellness – including the recently-completed House of Movement and Culture in Copenhagen.
MVRDV architecture design Shenzhen China Nanshan Jacob van RijsExclusive: How MVRDV are transforming a museum art depot into a unique attraction for Rotterdam
Fitness and fun promoted at MVRDV's madcap House of Movement and Culture
MVRDV design gold-tinged Paradise City entertainment zone for Seoul
'Vagueness should be killed': MVRDV's Winy Maas calls for more clarity in architecture
MVRDV turn traditional buildings inside out for green-lit Zaanstad Cultural Cluster
MVRDV's spiky Danish Museum of Rock opens in Roskilde
FEATURE: In conversation – MVRDV’S Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Aman sister brand Janu launching in Tokyo in 2024 with design by Denniston's Jean-Michel Gathy
The Peninsula London unveils Peter Marino-designed spa inspired by London’s famous parks
First glimpses revealed of Mandarin Oriental, Mayfair's subterranean spa retreat
"Architecture is alive" says Ma Yansong, as Shenzhen art museum opens exhibition showcasing work of MAD Architects
Ben Channon has written Happy by Design, a new book about how architecture affects our mental health. He explains how we can all be happier at home