In 2015, Pudong New Area planned to establish a new activity center that would house both the relocated district youth activity center and the mass art museum. Situated in the green space east of Jinxiu Road, this project aims to form a “cultural neighborhood” alongside the existing Pudong Library (designed by Japanese firm Nihon Sekkei) to the north and the upcoming Pudong Urban Planning and Public Art Center (by David Chipperfield Architects) to the south. Although the Youth Activity Center and Mass Art Museum fall under the Education Bureau and Culture and Broadcasting Bureau respectively, the district government proactively recognized their similar urban functions and operational mechanisms. Consequently, they decided to integrate these two institutions into a single complex, enabling flexible spatial arrangements for resource sharing, operational adjustments, and sustainable growth. In an international design competition held for this project, Shanshui Xiu Architectural Firm won first place and was commissioned, jointly with Tongji University Architectural Design and Research Institute, to design the entire complex.
The site for this interactive platform project lies between the Pudong Library and the Pudong Urban Planning and Public Art Center. A north-south river called Yanmaotang flows through the area. Using one or two large, integrated volumes on either side of the river would resemble the neighboring libraries and planning centers but could result in overly rigid functional layouts, unsuitable for fostering a welcoming atmosphere for cultural and sports activities. Conversely, a completely fragmented layout across the 80,000-square-meter area might feel lively but would sacrifice spatial efficiency and flow. Additionally, an open space is necessary at the base of the cultural neighborhood along both sides of the river to establish a pedestrian and landscape network.
Considering these internal and external factors, we propose a novel spatial model for large-scale structures called “three-dimensional settlements,” composed of “interactive platforms.” Each interactive platform ranges from 1,500 to 2,500 square meters and supports a cluster of 3 to 10 modular boxes designed to accommodate different functional groups. These platform structures are approximately 30 meters wide and 50 to 80 meters long, creating a balanced scale with the urban environment. The box clusters on each platform are compact and organically arranged like a village, offering a friendly and flexible environment for daily teaching and social activities. The boxes vary in size and function, including theaters, lobbies, exhibition halls, restaurants, and specialized classrooms for art, technology, and other disciplines, as well as scattered hilltop cottages—all supported by the platforms.
These expansive platforms not only span the river but also elevate the structure, freeing substantial open space underneath. This creates open and unobstructed outdoor areas between the library and planning centers, serving as the central hub of the entire cultural neighborhood’s pedestrian network. We utilized this platform unit to design two interconnected courtyards: the western courtyard connects to the Jinxiu Road subway square (Line 7) to the southwest and houses a 1,000-seat theater and an art gallery; the eastern courtyard, surrounded by green space, primarily accommodates the youth activity center.
The overlapping and linking platforms encourage interaction between different zones and functions. In particular, the platform units of the Youth Activity Center and Mass Art Museum interlace within a four-story height range, forming a staggered three-dimensional settlement with numerous indoor and outdoor communal spaces. The garden platform bridges the river, connecting the two main halls on the east and west sides of Yanmaotang and acting as the primary public flow corridor. The west hall contains the western entrance hall, underground exhibition space, grand theater lobby, and garden platform entrance, while the east hall includes the eastern entrance hall, café, small theater, youth center entrance, and garden entrance hall. A corridor on the garden platform links both lobbies and, midway along Hedong, connects to the group art museum’s northern entrance hall. Elevators provide access to the first-floor restaurant and underground parking.
This dumbbell-shaped space connects the east and west lobbies via a bridge, forming a shared core public area for both museums while defining their internal operational zones. Inside, the activity boxes are arranged in staggered and irregular patterns in both plan and section, creating a relaxed and dynamic settlement atmosphere. Vertical circulation, restrooms, and equipment rooms are grouped in service cores aligned vertically to ensure efficient access and maintenance. The large, integrated platform addresses the collective urban scale, while the smaller, scattered boxes respond to individual users’ needs. This combination not only provides a welcoming and active environment within the museums but also transforms the building into a vibrant public stage integrated with its surroundings.
The museums host a wide variety of engaging activities, each requiring registration and reservation. Every visitor or participant has a primary destination, such as a classroom or theater. Users enter through the east and west lobbies or garden platforms, moving through different platform types and gradually arriving at their destinations via dynamic circulation spaces. On each platform, public spaces between classrooms are transformed from monotonous corridors into vibrant pedestrian zones of varying sizes, including indoor streets and outdoor terraces extending from the platform. Visitors can step outside at any floor level to relax among small trees and seating, enjoying views of the surrounding city and greenery.
Various public staircases and bridges connect the platforms, inviting users to explore, wander, or visit other interest areas freely. This three-dimensional platform settlement aims to foster positive interactions among people and between people and nature. It encourages communication among like-minded individuals during scheduled activities while enabling free exploration of diverse interests beyond structured times. We envision that fostering diverse integration and cross-disciplinary interaction is a vital quality for future public buildings.
Achieving spatial and structural harmony was essential for this 80,000-square-meter public building. The building’s structural module is based on an 8m by 8m grid, corresponding to an approximate activity classroom size of 65 square meters and three parking spaces in the basement. This modular grid simplifies the allocation and orientation of boxes during the design phase. Secondary modules of 2m and 1m assist in fine-tuning misalignments between platforms and boxes, as well as controlling the dimensions of aisles and doorways.
Most boxes are separated to allow corridors to receive ample natural light, ventilation, and external views. This design encourages users to enjoy semi-exposed platform spaces and provides numerous corner windows within the boxes. This layout breaks away from rigid central corridor designs, instead fostering a village-like settlement atmosphere through numerous box clusters. These structural units are arranged around two circular courtyards, forming the complex’s overall structural system. Through flexible secondary modules, overlapping and staggered platforms and box clusters create a spatial rhythm alternating between single-story and high-rise volumes.
To maximize prefabrication, the above-ground structure employs a full steel frame. The standard column grid spans 8 meters square with floor heights between 4.5 and 5.5 meters, and steel columns measure 400-500mm square. To optimize space usage in classrooms and outdoor terraces, most exterior walls of the boxes align with the columns, integrating walls and columns through construction techniques. Window frames are installed upside down on the exterior, with their surfaces flush with column faces. Aluminum panels clad each column, divided into four corners with a concave dark gray seam at the center, visually splitting the column into two halves that blend into adjacent window systems, effectively dissolving the column’s presence on the facade.
Inside, columns protrude approximately 450mm, accommodating window seats or storage cabinets as needed. This structural solution creates a generous 600mm edge around each box, integrating columns, walls, windows, and built-in furniture, enhancing spatial completeness and usability. Doors and windows come in 2m-wide by 650mm-high modules, with various horizontal divisions to meet lighting and ventilation needs for diverse activities such as dance, martial arts, instrumental music, choir, art, calligraphy, and intelligent technology.
On the west side of the “Hui”-shaped courtyard, two east-west bridge platforms constructed with truss structures span the river. The North Link Bridge on the third floor is exposed and primarily serves as a passageway. The Nanlian Bridge on the second floor functions as a special cross-river platform, blending bridge structure with courtyard space. The truss is concealed within the walls, creating a courtyard settlement composed of houses, courtyards, and greenery—serving as a multifunctional space for crossing the river, resting, and social activities.
The truss system spans 60 meters and consists of two main east-west trusses and four north-south connecting trusses. Collaborating closely with structural engineers, we utilized hollow sections in each truss and gaps between web members to create door and window openings in courtyard walls. The truss walls also support the upper sloping roof, forming scattered small houses within the courtyard. This design creates a parallel spatial experience on the south side of the straight passage, allowing both bypass and pause.
As a new type of large-scale composite public building, the Pudong New Area Youth Activity Center and Mass Art Museum offer a valuable opportunity to explore innovative architectural concepts. Shanshui Xiu has created an urban three-dimensional village settlement through interactive platforms. We believe urban residents still need public physical activity spaces for offline communication, sharing, dissemination, and expanding interests.
Public buildings must evolve continuously to adapt to societal changes with vitality. We propose three design principles for “moving toward new settlements”:
1. Shared Reduction: Encourage merging and time-sharing of similar functional spaces to reduce overall building size, lowering construction carbon footprint and operational energy consumption.
2. Organic Interaction: Create comfortable indoor and outdoor environments that engage with the surroundings, fostering interactions among people, nature, and different groups, resulting in an organic settlement experience.
3. Settlement Construction: Integrate structure, equipment, space, and materials closely during construction, extending the scope of design from individual buildings to the broader settlement environment.
The relationship between physical and virtual spaces continues to evolve, increasing uncertainty about future lifestyles. Static architectural systems must maintain a positive and open approach to these changes, incorporating flexibility and organic design. By integrating spatial intelligence and contemporary technology, buildings can retain elasticity and adaptability to meet future needs.
Project Drawings
△ Model diagram
△ Model diagram
△ Hand-drawn drawing
△ Hand-drawn drawing
△ Conceptual diagram
△ General layout plan
△ First floor plan
△ Second floor plan
△ Section diagram
△ Section diagram
△ Section diagram
△ Sectional perspective
△ Local sectional perspective
△ Local sectional perspective
△ Analysis chart
△ Detailed Structural Drawing
△ Schematic diagram of local structure
△ Analysis chart
Project Information
Architect: Shanshui Xiu Architectural Firm
Area: 87,109 m²
Project Year: 2022
Photographers: Zhu Runzi, Su Shengliang
Project Leaders: Zhu Xiaofeng, Zhuang Xinjia (Shanghai Shanshui Xiu Architectural Design Consulting Co., Ltd.); Zeng Qun, Kang Yue (Tongji University Architectural Design and Research Institute (Group) Co., Ltd.)
Architectural Concept and Schematic Design: Pablo Gonzalez Riera, Liangshan, Du Jie, Sheng Tai, Xi Yu, Shi Yan’an, Zhou Yan, Shen Ziwei
Preliminary Architectural and Construction Drawing Coordination: Jiang Meng, Du Jie, Wang Junyuan, Lin Xiaosheng, Hu Xianmei
Interior Design: Jiang Meng, Du Jie, Wang Junyuan, Lin Xiaosheng
Interior Construction Drawing Design: Ji Jinpeng, Bian Suqi
Interns: Xie Tao, Gan Yunni, Sha Shanjun, Ye Chenhui, Weng Wenqian, Song Xiaoyue, Sun Haopeng
Architectural Design (Tongji Institute): Qiu Yanwen, He Bin, Wang Shan, Liu Yiwei, Yang Yang, Pei Yongxin, Chen Lei
Structural Design: Chen Xi, Liang Jianghao, Li Wei, Sang Dan, Xi Jiakai, Fu Cong
Water Supply and Drainage Design: You Bolin, Geng Junjun, Shan Chengguang, Du Wenhua, Shi Jinyue, Sun Fu, Chang Qinglong
HVAC Design: Zhu Weichang, Tang Zhenzhong, Zhang Weilin, Ye Yaowei, Zhou Jin, Liu Yi
Electrical Design: Zhang Yifeng, Zhou Chengli, Zhu Yicong, Xu Changhui
Curtain Wall Design: Ma Ruifeng, Zhu Taixi, Li Zhifeng
Curtain Wall Deepening: Wei Zheng, Song Bo, Lin Hai, Wu Pan
Energy Saving Design: Tang Chengyu
Excavation Design: Jiang Wenhui
Green Building Design: Cheng Kai, Guo Tiehui, Ling Yong
Estimate: Li Liyi
BIM Team: Zhang Dongsheng, Liu Jian, Chen Daiwei, Zhang Huanrui, Zhao Qi, Tan Guan, Ding Zhihua, Cha Wenhuan, Lv Zihao
Cross River Bridge Structure Consultant: Zhang Zhun
Owner: Shanghai Pudong New Area Education Bureau
Construction Management: Shanghai Pudong Engineering Construction Management Co., Ltd.
Construction Contractor: Shanghai Construction Seventh Construction Group Co., Ltd.
Operating Units: Pudong New Area Youth Activity Center, Pudong New Area Mass Art Museum
Supervision Unit: Shanghai Jianke Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd.
Architecture and Interior Design: Shanghai Shanshui Xiu Architectural Design Consulting Co., Ltd.
Collaborative Design Institute: Tongji University Architectural Design and Research Institute (Group) Co., Ltd.
Landscape Design: Shanghai Fangxiang Landscape Design Co., Ltd.
Location: Shanghai
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