Architects: TJAD Atelier L+
Area: 90,440 m²
Year: 2024
Photography: Schran Image
Lead Architects: Li Linxue
Architects Team: Li Linxue, Zhou Kaifeng, Liu Yang, Jiang Yongqian, Ye Xincheng, Shan Yunxiang, Wang Yanwen, Jiao Yan, Guo Ganli, Ni Run’er, Li Lan, Dong Zhihui, Wu Yumei, Zhang Qi
Design Team: Project Leaders: Li Linxue, Zhou Kaifeng; Project Managers: Zhou Kaifeng, Shen Weiyu
Structural Engineering: Yu Zhongjun, Wang Jianfeng, Pan Hua, Wang Zhengcheng, Yin Tengzong, Su Chenxiao
Civil Engineering: Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
Interior Design: Shenzhen Jishang Construction Group Co., Ltd.
Landscape Design: Shanghai Beidouxing Landscape Design Engineering Co., Ltd.
Facade Design: Huana Engineering Consulting (Beijing) Co., Ltd.; Tianhe Lianchuang Design Co., Ltd.
Green Building Design: Xi’an Muniu Energy Technology Service Co., Ltd.
Lighting Design: Beijing Dongfang Huamai Architectural Design Consulting Co., Ltd.
Acoustic Design: Acoustic and Theatre Specialized Design Institute of East China Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Stage Machinery Design: Beijing Beitershengdi Technology Development Co., Ltd.
Stage Visual Design: George Tsypin
Performance Direction: Zhou Liya, Han Zhen
Materials: Rough-textured concrete, ultra-clear glass, matte semi-reflective aluminum, steel
Client: Shaanxi Cultural Industry (Xixian New Area) Investment Co., Ltd.
City: Xi’An
Country: China
The Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (Phase One), designed by TJAD Atelier L+, establishes a new cultural anchor in Xi’an’s Xixian New Area through a sophisticated integration of architecture, performance technology, and historical sensitivity. As the first completed component of a larger cultural complex, the project centers on an immersive performing arts theater conceived within the stringent heritage protection zone surrounding the Epang Palace ruins. In response to height restrictions and archaeological context, the design adopts a partially sunken strategy that embeds the building into the landscape while drawing formal inspiration from Qin-era construction techniques. Organized around principles derived from ancient “Li-Fang” urban planning, the broader site combines terraces, plazas, and pedestrian pathways into a layered civic environment. At its core, the theater reimagines contemporary performance through a 160-meter-long integrated stage and seating system accommodating 1,500 movable seats. Developed in close collaboration with performance designers and equipped with advanced multimedia technologies, the building supports the epic production Majestic Qin while presenting a new architectural model that fuses cultural memory, spatial innovation, and urban regeneration.
Architecture rarely confronts a context as charged as the plains west of Xi’an, where the remnants of imperial ambition remain embedded beneath the landscape. Here, adjacent to the legendary ruins of Epang Palace, TJAD Atelier L+ was tasked with creating a contemporary cultural institution capable of asserting civic significance without overwhelming the historical gravity of its setting. The resulting project negotiates this tension through a language of measured presence, choosing excavation and integration over overt monumentality.
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 56 
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 57
The site occupies a strategic position within Xi’an’s expanding Xixian New Area, framed by both archaeological protection zones and ambitious urban development initiatives. Height restrictions imposed by national heritage authorities established severe formal limitations, with allowable building heights ranging from eight to eighteen meters depending on proximity to the ruins. Rather than treating these constraints as obstacles, the design team transformed them into the conceptual foundation of the project.
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 58 
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 59
Their solution is rooted in the act of subtraction. The terrain is lowered across the site to establish a calmer datum, while the theater itself descends substantially below grade. This sunken composition recalls the foundational logic of Qin dynasty rammed-earth platforms, allowing the architecture to appear as though it rises naturally from the ground. The gesture is not merely practical but symbolic, binding the building to the archaeological memory of the site through tectonic continuity.
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 60 
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 61
This relationship is reinforced through material articulation. The theater’s base is clad in rough-textured concrete, treated with horizontal striations that emphasize the building’s lateral extension and evoke the compressed layers of earth construction. Above this grounded plinth, transparency takes over. Ultra-clear folded glass facades and matte semi-reflective aluminum roofing introduce a lighter, more contemporary expression, producing a deliberate contrast between mass and lightness, permanence and impermanence.
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 62 
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 63 
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 64
The broader masterplan extends this dialogue with history through spatial organization inspired by the “Li-Fang” urban prototype of the Qin and Han dynasties. Streets and alleys intersect to structure circulation, while terraces, gardens, ramps, and plazas create a richly layered public realm. These spaces choreograph movement across the campus and establish a civic framework that encourages gathering, exploration, and interaction between architecture and landscape.
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 65 
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 66 
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 67
At the center of this framework lies the performing arts theater, conceived as a radical departure from conventional performance typologies. Developed simultaneously with the production requirements of Majestic Qin, the building emerged through close collaboration between architects, stage designers, and technological specialists. This integrated process allowed architecture and performance to evolve together, dissolving the traditional distinction between fixed venue and adaptable scenographic apparatus.
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 68 
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 69
The principal performance chamber is a vast immersive environment stretching 160 meters in length and 40 meters in width. Within this volume, 1,500 movable seats interact dynamically with a panoramic stage system supported by intelligent lighting, sound, and multimedia technologies. The result is a continuously reconfigurable theatrical landscape in which spectators are no longer passive observers but active participants embedded within the unfolding narrative.
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 70 
Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (1st Phase) / TJAD Atelier L+ 71
Supporting this unprecedented performance model required equally innovative technical solutions. Complex circulation systems wrap vertically around the main auditorium, while steel-framed canopies, elevated service zones, and multi-level public amenities accommodate the operational demands of large-scale immersive production. The theater’s recognition as the world’s largest immersive moving theater and its Guinness World Record for the largest theater stage affirm its technical achievement, yet its deeper significance lies in demonstrating how contemporary cultural architecture can reconcile historical reverence with experimental ambition. Through this synthesis, the Shaanxi Culture and Art Museum (Phase One) positions itself as both a landmark of innovation and a compelling act of architectural continuity.
Project Gallery
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Project Location
Address: Xi’An, China
The location specified is intended for general reference and may denote a city or country, but it does not identify a precise address.