Arts centre taking a giant leap forward with traditional design

This striking art centre is home to exhibition galleries, retail space and offices. Outside, a garden paved with black gravel features a round pool with an observation platform that reaches all the way to the circle’s centre and from which visitors have a panoramic view of the main facade of the building. The mesh-like double-layer curtain wall system, clad in red brick lattices, is both the visual highlight and the technical focus of the project. The overall 'passive design' of the building minimizes energy consumption through the double-layer curtain wall system featuring a clay brick grid, an insulated cavity and low-e tempered glass on the east, south and west facades. 
Red clay bricks are traditionally used in Chinese folk houses but with the development of urban construction criteria traditional bricks and masonry techniques no longer meet the requirements of large-scale public buildings. To hold back the vanishing of traditional craftsmanship, the architects adapted and refined the bricks for the 21st century.