Behind the Concrete is a monthly snippet where we introduce a piece of architecture that has a unique design and/or interesting story.
The city of Shenzhen – which transformed from a small fishing village into a major metropolis in just a few decades – has come to signify China’s economic leap over the last 35 years. Functioning as the municipal government’s primary office space, the Shenzhen Civic Center takes on the shape of a flying eagle and is supposed to be indicative of the city’s soaring urban development.
Designed by acclaimed Chinese-American architect John Ming-Yee Lee and completed in 2004, the civic center is considered Shenzhen’s most distinguishable landmark after the towering Ping’an Finance Centre.
One round and one square-shaped tower penetrate the 9,000-ton, 486-meter-long wing-shaped roof, which some say looks more like a giant gas station than a flying eagle, and we’d tend to agree.
With Lotus Mountain grandly guarding its back, the Shenzhen Civic Center boasts superior fengshui, allowing it to attract general prosperity for the city (or so the logic goes). It takes only about 30 minutes to reach the peak from a roof garden that connects the civic center to Shenzhen Central Book City.
Apart from serving as the working space for more than 30 government departments, the Shenzhen Civic Center also holds regular art exhibitions, lectures and performances.
See listing for Shenzhen Civic Center.
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