Snow by Mao Zedong, February 1936, –to the tune of Chin Yuan Chun, Look at the landscape of northern China: The vast frozen land is covered with ice. And the snow flits far-flung in the sky． On both sides of the Great Wall． The empty wilderness survives； From upriver to downstream， The roaring currents disappear． The mountains dance like silver snake， The highlands slither like huge wax elephants. Vying with the sky for height． When comes the sunny day, The land is dressed up with bright sun and clear white snow， What a gorgeous and attractive scene it is! – Harbin Culture Island is situated within the Riverside Park on the north bank of Songhua River, near Harbin New District. MAD’s design has been inspired by the seasonal change of Songhua River leaving light traces in the Northeast plains, a spectacular scenery of natural landscape fittingly captured by Mao’s poetry. By understanding Songhua River’s winterscape –one that has been carved out by thousands of years of ice and snow– and incorporating the Chinese philosophical attempt to unify man and nature, MAD architects has established a dialogue between architecture and environment, urban and nature. A space that allows for one’s awareness to find its own expression through architecture. The design of Harbin Theater will be a place that provides a stage for daily urban life and culture for locals and tourists alike. The island will be able to host different events from cultural to commercial, educational or entertainment, creating a secluded environment to escape the current reality of China’s new towns. MAD paid attention to keeping the rich and diverse natural habitats by protecting the existing wetland condition and trees on site. With paths and recreation spaces weaved into the existing landscape and vegetation, the site retains its natural wetland and will function as a public park. Appearing on the skyline as snowy hills, the new Culture Centre and Harbin Theater’s curves are like flying ribbons, drawing a new horizon and blurring the line between the natural and the artificial. The main buildings are centreed along an elevated plaza at the centre of the site. This both inherits the Eastern philosophical concept of a unified and harmonic space and limits the demand on structural space, all the while conveying the Chinese architectural emphasis on order, sequence of space and lines of sight. The dynamically amorphous form –both supple and stretched– reflects its surrounding natural seasonal scenery, one that is especially exemplified by the poetic dialogue of Snow to the Tune of Chin Yuan Chun.
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Harbin Culture Island