White granite-clad volumes rise through the planted roofs of Shenzhen Bay Culture Square, a 188,000m2 cultural complex in Shenzhen, China. Designed by architecture practice MAD, the project occupies a 51,000m2 site beside Shenzhen Bay in the city’s Nanshan District.
The complex contains exhibition galleries, public education spaces, a design library, and a multifunctional theatre. MAD partners Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, and Yosuke Hayano led the design. The venue began trial operations on 01 November 2025 and opened fully on 23 November. More than 30,000 people visited during the trial period.
Headquarters towers face the site from one side, while Shenzhen Talent Park, the bay, and mangrove wetlands lie on the other. MAD divided the institution among separate buildings and extended planted parkland across their roofs.
Green roofs connect Shenzhen Talent Park with the bay
The green roofs continue into Shenzhen Talent Park through a series of gentle slopes and winding paths. Visitors can approach from several directions, walk over the cultural buildings, and reach viewpoints overlooking the bay.
A road along the eastern side has been sunk below ground, leaving the surface open to pedestrians. On the western side, a footbridge connects the roof park with the surrounding urban area.
Two passages lined with illuminated display windows run between the entrances to the north and south halls. Open 24 hours, they provide routes through the complex without requiring visitors to enter the exhibition spaces.
Galleries and other cultural facilities occupy the buildings below, while the roofs provide a public route between the city, park, and shoreline.
Stone-like buildings contain nine exhibition galleries
The cultural programme is divided between northern and southern groups of buildings dedicated to creative design and scientific living. The individual volumes decrease in height from the city towards the water, retaining views across the site.
MAD based the forms on stones emerging as water recedes. Around 350,000 strips of granite were fitted across the curved façades, according to the Shenzhen Municipal Government.
The complex has nine galleries providing approximately 50,000m2 of exhibition space. These are supported by a 20,000m2 collection storage facility, a 720-seat theatre, and a 330-seat design hall.
Entrances are positioned along several urban edges, with no prescribed route through the complex. Inside, a ring-shaped atrium connects galleries arranged among the separate volumes. Fair-faced concrete is exposed throughout the interior, where daylight changes across the spaces over the course of the day.
Ribbed concrete structures remain visible across the ceilings of the standard galleries, with lighting and building services incorporated between the ribs. The tallest gallery in the north hall reaches 28 metres and receives diffused light from above. In the south hall, a long-span domed gallery provides a lower and wider exhibition space.
A shallow pool between the two groups of buildings echoes the neighbouring coastal wetland. The plaza and roofs provide outdoor areas for performances, art markets, and festivals.
Low-rise buildings sit beside migratory bird route
Shenzhen Bay is a stopover on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, used by migratory birds including black-faced spoonbills, plovers, and sandpipers. Tens of thousands of birds stop in the area’s mangroves during autumn and winter.
MAD kept the buildings low and dispersed to avoid encroaching on the flight corridor. Only native species were used on the roofs, while planting between the buildings steps down towards the shore.
Roof paths, passages, bridges, and entrances allow people to cross the site without entering the galleries. The routes connect the headquarters district with Shenzhen Talent Park and the waterfront.
MAD served as architectural designer, with East China Architectural Design and Research Institute acting as executive architect. Landscape designers Sasaki and Metrostudio handled the landscape.
Arup Engineering Consulting’s Shenzhen branch served as structural consultant. China Construction Science and Industry Corporation was the general contractor.
Photography: Blackstation, Zhu Yumeng, Zhang Chao, Chen Jiaqi, REDFLAG, Hufton+Crow, ACF, Seilao Jiong, HertZest Zhang Taotao
