EMBT Wins in Shenzhen

According to a statement from Miralles Tagliabue EMBT, the studio led by Benedetta Tagliabue, the Shenzhen Conservatory of Music will be located on the campus of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in Longgang, Shenzhen. The site is about 50 kilometers east of Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport.

EMBT's scheme is made up of multiple interconnected buildings that correlate to the general program: performance, learning, and living. The auditoriums consists of a rehearsal hall with 200 seats, a 500-seat concert hall, and a main theater with 700 seats; visible from a distance, the last formally serves as the "protagonist" in the Conservatory composition. Other program spaces include classrooms, a library, administrative spaces, and a dormitory. EMBT describes their competition-winning design as "a living organism in which all parts are interconnected, in which education and creativity flow and share space."

The visuals provided by the studio show a design that is unmistakably EMBT, recalling the sinuous forms of the Scottish Parliament Building. Like that now 17-year-old building, the Shenzhen Conservatory of Music knits itself into the built and natural context. The latter, particularly the adjacent reservoir, was a strong inspiration on the design, as described by the studio: "[A] dialogue, with water and green, creates a new way of understanding learning: a place of calm and connection with nature for education and creativity." Music was also an inspiration, as the facades will feature "sustainable materials with compositions that resemble some musical scores."

1. Shenzhen Opera House (Ateliers Jean Nouvel)
2. Shenzhen Reform and Opening-Up Exhibition Hall (Sou Fujimoto + Chen Donghua)
3. Shenzhen Bay Cultural Center (MAD Architects + ECADI)
4. Guoshen Museum (SCUT / He Jingtang)
5. Shenzhen Science & Technology Museum (Zaha Hadid Architects)
6. Shenzhen Maritime Museum (SANAA)
7. Shenzhen Nature Museum (B+H + 3XN + Zhubo)
8. Shenzhen Art Museum (KSP Jurgen Engel + Zhubo)
9. Shenzhen Institute of Design and Innovation (Dominique Perrault Architecture + Zhubo)
10. Shenzhen Conservatory of Music (Miralles Tagliabue EMBT + HYP)