MAD completes Shenzhen Bay Culture Square, a stone-like museum on the coast
MAD has finalized the Shenzhen Bay Culture Square, a museum complex spanning 188,000 square meters on a reclaimed coastal area in Shenzhen, opposite Hong Kong. Situated in Houhai, the design showcases white granite structures on verdant slopes, with pathways that traverse the rooftops, highlighting the spaces between buildings. The museum itself occupies 51,000 square meters and connects seamlessly with Talent Park, creating a vehicle-free pedestrian zone. It features northern and southern sections dedicated to creative design and scientific living, including exhibition galleries, educational spaces, and a versatile theater. The project, led by Principal Ma Yansong alongside partners Dang Qun and Yosuke Hayano, was commissioned by the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, with construction handled by Nanshan District Construction and China Resources Land. Photography credits go to Hufton + Crow, Blackstation, Zhu Yumeng, and Zhang Chao.
Key facts
- MAD completed Shenzhen Bay Culture Square after eight years of work.
- The museum complex covers 188,000 square meters on a reclaimed site in Shenzhen, facing Hong Kong.
- The project is located at the edge of Houhai, where the headquarters district meets Talent Park.
- The design features white granite volumes rising from green slopes, with paths crossing over roofs.
- Vehicles are removed from the surface to create a continuous pedestrian field.
- The museum is divided into northern and southern clusters for creative design and scientific living.
- The north hall has a 16-meter-tall room under diffused top light; the south hall has a broad domed span.
- Principal Ma Yansong asks: 'Can public space be more open and equal?'
- The client is the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports.
- Photography is by Hufton + Crow, Blackstation, Zhu Yumeng, and Zhang Chao.
Entities
Artists
- Ma Yansong
- Dang Qun
- Yosuke Hayano
- Tiffany Dahlen
- Li Jian
- Zhang Chao
- Li Cunhao
- Zhang Kai
- Xu Shaohua
- Ma Yiran
- Li Hui
- Yoshio Fukumori
- Zhang Yaohui
- Sun Feifei
- Li Gang
- Ning Tong
- Haruka Tomoeda
- Natawat Warotdulyavat
- He Xin
- Zhang Jiahao
- Li Leyuan
- Cao Xi
- Maria Soledad
- Sun Jingyi
- Gan Mengjia
- Wang Fei
- Pan Jifu
- Xu Tianyang
- Tian Jin
- Zou Dengyu
- Yang Xuebing
- Li Xinyun
- Huang Jinkun
- Lin Zihan
- Jiang Linyun
- Luis Torres
- Neeraj Mahajan
- Zhang Tong
- Wang Yiwei
- Wei Yunzhao
- Raquel Valdes
- Emma Sanson
- Niu Shaobo
- Huai Wei
- Kenji Hada
- Zhu Yumeng
- Blackstation
- Hufton + Crow
- Kenya Hara
Institutions
- MAD
- Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports
- Nanshan District Construction and Public Works Bureau
- China Resources Land (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.
- designboom
- MAD Architects
- Nippon Design Center
- Shenzhen municipal government
Locations
- Shenzhen
- China
- Hong Kong
- Houhai
- Talent Park
- Nanshan District
- Shenzhen Talent Park
- Rotterdam
- Zhejiang