China has opened a new performing arts complex in Tongzhou, a historic port on the Grand Canal and the eastern gateway to Beijing. Designed by Perkins&Will’s and Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s combined Shanghai studio with a landscape by SLA, the Beijing Performing Arts Centre anchors Tongzhou’s recently designated cultural district, a collection of major civic projects that also includes a museum, a library, and extensive parklands. Consisting of three world-class venues—an opera house, a theater, and a concert hall—as well as a multipurpose hall and an outdoor stage, the Beijing Performing Arts Centre will host hundreds of performances each year—everything from traditional Chinese and Western operas to orchestral performances, stage dramas, and dances.

“We have always referred to this project as the containers for culture,” says chief architect, Chris Hardie. “Inspired by the storehouses that once held materials and food for transport into Beijing, we now create storehouses for local and global culture, a focal point for Beijing’s dedication to the arts.”

Designed to cultivate community while promoting the health and well-being of visitors and the environment, the project embodies the site’s storied history and its bright future in a subtle poetic expression. Conceived as lanterns for the performing arts, the buildings recall Tongzhou’s importance as a commercial shipping and storage hub by referencing the rooflines of the storehouses that formerly lined the canal’s banks and the sails of traditional canal boats. The forms simultaneously evoke a theater curtain parting at the beginning of a performance. A broad plinth, accessed from all directions by splayed steps and ramps, unifies the complex. This elevated platform extends the buildings’ lobbies into the surrounding forested park, setting up the relationship between the interiors, the landscape, and the Grand Canal.

“Although each building’s design serves a specific function, their forms are complementary,” says project director, Chao Chen, adding that the interior of the opera house, for instance, is shaped for optimal acoustics. “They work together to achieve this pleasing suggestion of lanterns at the water’s edge.”

Constructed in sections since the 5th century B.C., the 2,000-kilometer-long Grand Canal is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It connects Beijing to South China and has been vital to the nation’s culture and economy for millennia. The Tongzhou District of Beijing has long been an important point of trade along the canal; as goods arrived in Tongzhou from the south, they were sorted and stored in warehouses until needed in Beijing. In a regional reversal, the performing arts complex will now draw Beijing residents and visitors from the city to the canal.

The design team incorporated sustainable features throughout the project that promote human and ecosystem health, earning the project a China Three Star rating for environmental performance. The high-performance building envelope, which is shaded by a perforated aluminum screen, conserves 20% more energy than required by local code. The buildings plug into a district energy system that is primarily powered by ground-source heat pumps, achieving a 60% renewable energy use rate. The HVAC system’s filtration system combined with carbon dioxide sensors in public areas ensures high indoor air quality. Low-flow fixtures conserve water throughout the buildings. Rainwater gardens and permeable pavements create a porous, sponge-like landscape that absorbs and retains stormwater on-site, reducing the chance of flooding. Landscape irrigation, road and garage cleaning, and toilet flushing all use 100% reclaimed municipal greywater, further reducing the consumption of water resources.

A dedicated metro station below the park, along with ramps and stairs at ground level, facilitates public access. The subterranean level also includes parking, retail, and a food and beverage complex interspersed with sunken gardens. The plinth is always open as part of the park, providing visitors with inspiring views of Tongzhou and the Grand Canal. “It’s gratifying to see the flow of people and the sharing of ideas and experiences in and around the Beijing Performing Arts Centre, all reflected in the historic waterway,” says James Lu, regional director, Perkins&Will. “This project is truly a testament to the city’s vision and commitment to arts and culture.”