La Cadiere Art Center (Lake City), Chengdu, China | 2021

Architects: SCDA Architects Pte. Ltd.
Lead Architect: Chan Soo Khian
General Contractor: Chengdu Construction Engineering Group
Client: La Cadiere
Photographers: Jonathan Leijonhufvud and Hai Zhu

Driving to the lake along the avenue, you will see a floating glass box at the end of the lush landscape on both sides. The crystal glass curtain wall is reflecting the sun, looking like a jewel hidden in the lake—the La Cadiere Art Center Lake City. The simple and neat glass box is slightly detached from the bottom and extends sideways over the landscape, constituting a subtle relationship that it grows from the ground but floats above. The carefully arranged colored glazes on the surface of the glass box not only provide visual interest but also effectively reduces the direct sunlight.

Go through the lobby and upstairs, and you will enjoy a view of the lake from above. The full-height glass curtain wall unfolded brightly and unobstructedly, contrasts strongly with the introverted space enclosed by the lobby. In the art gallery space on the ground floor, a geometric skylight introduces soft natural light, quiet and elegant. An experiential commercial space is closely linked to the art gallery. In this space, the unique positioning of the shops and the immersive experience of the space naturally leads the pedestrian to the other commercial spaces.