Sanya Cultural District | Zaha Hadid Architects

Situated on the southern tip of Hainan Island, China’s most southerly province with its tropical forests, mountain parks and white sand beaches welcoming over 80 million tourists each year, Sanya has grown to a city of over a million residents.

Facing Sanya Bay, the harbour is the centre of the city’s leisure, shopping and business districts. Incorporating yachting marinas and one of China’s busiest cruise ship terminals, the harbour also includes the city’s commercial and fishing port.

Located at the entrance to Sanya’s harbour, the new cultural district by ZHA is adjacent to the Jiangang Road terminus of Sanya’s tram network that connects many of the residential and hotel districts on Sanya Bay with the city’s high-speed rail station.

Establishing the harbour as the heart of Sanya’s cultural life, the new district defines the city as a gateway to the tropical waters of Sanya Bay and beyond to the South China Sea.

A central axis through the masterplan directly links the new harbourside district with the city’s existing urbanism and divides the cultural programming of its performing arts theatre and exhibition galleries from its commercial programming for conferences and trade fairs; both facilities share a new public square with sweeping views over the harbour that welcomes visitors, audiences and delegates to the events within.

Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Design: Patrik Schumacher

ZHA Competition Project Directors: Nils Fischer, Lei Zheng, Jakub Klaska
ZHA Competition Project Architects: Chun-Yen Chen, Matthew Gabe
ZHA Competition Team: Shajay Bhooshan, Joshua Anderson, Vishu Bhooshan, Daniel Boran, Chun-Yen Chen, Hung-Da Chien, Nils Fischer, Matthew Gabe, Charles Harris, Jinqi Huang, Yen-Fen Huang, Ivan Hewitt, Jakub Klaska, Hannah Kopeliovitch Simmons, Henry Louth, Sonia Magdziarz, Patrik Schumacher, Svenja Siever, Tul Srisompun, Yaobin Wang, Yutong Xia, Simon Yu, Lei Zheng, Han Hsun Hsieh

Client: The People’s Government of Sanya City Consultants

Executive Architects: Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research Local Architect: Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research Structural
Engineers: Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research
Quantity Surveyor: Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research
M&E Engineering: Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research
MEP: Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research

Transport Consultant: Parking Management Organization
Fire Engineer: Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research Landscape Consultant: ZHA
Lighting Design: ZHA
Acoustic Consultant: Cundall
Theatre Consultant: Cundall
Theatre Management Consultants: Cundall
Theatre Equipment Consultants: Cundall
Site Surveyor: Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research Signage Design: SHIYU Urban Signage Planning and Design