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Following China's rapid urbanization and emergence of new districts and public buildings, MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong, has won an international competition to design the new Zhuhai Cultural Arts Center. Their proposal, titled "Village Under the Dome", will be situated within China’s Pearl River Delta in the Yinkeng Village, a historic town that has recently been demolished and relocated by the municipality to make room for new projects. Instead of rebuilding over the demolition, their design offered a conservation and renewal of the village, creating a new function of the original site.
To conduct field research of the area, MAD looked into the remaining traces of the centuries-old village, and conversed with residents who refused to leave their town. The citizens' strong sense of emotion and memory, and the remains of the town's urban fabric inspired the architects to be the only firm to propose a design that goes against the demolition and preserve the village's memory. The new civic center will be a human-centered project that restores the public life and promotes respect and acknowledgement of the town.