Architects Datafile (ADF) – August 2019

T

he city of Wuxi sits on the banks of

the Taihu Lake in the southern

Jiangsu province in China, just north

west of Shanghai. Opposite it, on the other

side of the lake is the Yixing National

Forest Park, also known as the Sea of

Bamboo – thought to be the world’s largest

natural bamboo forest, and the direct

inspiration for the exterior of a new theatre

in the city.

The theatre forms part of sports and

leisure conglomerate Wanda Group’s new

‘cultural tourism city’ – a 240-hectare

development comprising theme parks

(indoor and outdoor), hotels, a residential

area and a commercial centre. It’s the

latest in a series of this type of project for

Wanda in China and, explains Steve

Chilton, director of architects SCA, “the

theatres are kind of seen like a jewel in the

development, the primary cultural draw.”

Before the practice were appointed to

design the project’s external fabric, there

was a “previous version” which didn’t end

up going anywhere. The brief was then

rewritten and the budget changed, and the

client was left needing to appoint someone

at a fairly late stage, and abandoning the

idea to run a competition. Chilton had

worked with them a few years previously,

before setting up his own practice, and so

already had a relationship with them. He

was approached directly and asked to work

on the project towards the end of 2016, “at

a point where they needed to produce

something fairly quickly to hit their original

deadline,” he explains.

The theatre, due to open in December,

will be the home for a single major

spectacle running into the future – a water

show created by renowned theatre director

Franco Dragone. Known for his work on

Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas and the water

shows he’s created under his own company

Dragone, his joint venture with Wanda will

see a number of new shows staged across

several venues.

Design inspired by nature

Although each of the ‘cities’ Wanda

constructs is different, many elements

remain similar across them. “With the

theme parks and residential elements, a

certain style is adopted and repeated

around the country,” Chilton explains.

However, the theatres are more individually

designed: “They are a kind of magnet to

draw people towards their development –

they need something to give it an identity.”

It was this notion of creating an ‘identity’

that formed the main brief from the client,

along with something that would have a

“broad appeal”, explains Chilton. “They’re

not interested in creating modern, abstract

architecture.” The practice therefore

had to search for a solution that would

be an interesting visual draw, yet also

recognisable and familiar. “They wanted

something which anyone can look at and

get what it’s about,” he says.

To this end, the designers followed

Wanda’s “very symbol orientated” ethos

and looked for inspiration in the locality. In

this way they could create a building

“which resonates with something about the

local culture in a way that it’s obvious to

Inspired by the ‘Bamboo Forest’ of a nearby national park,

the Wuxi Taihu Show Theatre near Shanghai marks the

entrance to a huge new tourist attraction in its city.

Roseanne Field reports

Forest canopy

WUXI TAIHU SHOW THEATRE

WUXI, CHINA

BUILDING

PROJECTS

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