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MAD's new Aranya 'Cloud Center' is floating into place in coastal China

2022-09-01T14:45:00-04:00

MAD Architects has shared new images and project details of its upcoming multipurpose Aranya "Cloud Center" in the port city of Qinhuangdao, China.

The firm says it is nearly complete with the construction phase that was begun in March 2021 in the coastal area roughly 160 miles east of Beijing.

Featuring a floating cloud-like grand hall, column-free gallery space, and theater, the 2,579-square-meter (27,760-square-foot) facility will serve as the centerpiece of a growing artistic community, attempting to blur the boundary between architecture and nature in a smart update to founder Ma Yansong’s well-established approach to the design of intimate spatial experiences.

Photo: Zhu Yumeng. Image courtesy MAD Architects

Photo: CreatAR. Image courtesy MAD Architects

Per the firm: "The Cloud Center is designated to have a singular architecture becoming the component to a larger context. With a reflective pond, a garden, and surrounding woods, the entirety forms a peaceful dreamscape envisi...

MAD unveils plans for the new Aranya 'Cloud Center'

2021-07-06T17:43:00-04:00

A new multipurpose development is taking shape in Qinhuangdao, China, bringing a “floating cloud by the sea” thanks to a plan by MAD, unveiled this week, that will add 2,500 square meters of swirling new public space to the city’s coastal community of Aranya.

Having already broken ground in March, residents of the region will soon enjoy a new center for conferences, performances, and more housed in a flexible columnless interior space complete with a theater space wrapped in a unique white stained glass facade.

Image courtesy MAD Architects

Viewed from above, the project’s footprint takes on a futuristic shape thanks to a white boundary wall and undulated landscape with painted rocks meant to resemble interstellar constellations. From the ground, a more atmospheric feel finally takes full form, with an articulated cloud-like structure sitting atop a circular glazed core that adds a floating quality to visitors who enter the space’s foyer through a long re...