Construction is underway on the latest boundary-pushing structure from China's MAD Architects, with builders now at work piecing together a new conference center set into the snowy mountains of China.
MAD's portfolio is jam-packed with awe-inspiring designs that are futuristic both in terms of construction technologies, and the form that they take. Often curvy and always eye-catching, the list includes a spaceship-like museum for George Lucas, a similarly extraterrestrial-feeling opera house in northeast China, and a highly-rounded apartment block in Paris.
The Yabuli Conference Centre is no major departure from the firm's distinctive design language, with its softened edges and long, undulating shape. In this case, its form is meant to vaguely resemble its mountainous surroundings, keeping a relatively low and long profile that reaches a maximum height of only 24 m (78 ft).
Its home in Yabuli in China's north east is home to rugged terrain and icy temperatures. Despite the inhospitable conditions, each year the China Entrepreneur Forum hosts an annual summit in Yabuli, and has now seen it fit to build a permanent venue for its purposes.
Spread out over four floors, the center will house a museum, small and large auditoriums, along with an assortment of conference rooms, studios and exhibition areas. A spectacular skylight in the building's center illuminates the interior, and is also meant to serve as a symbol of the bright ideas that will (hopefully) be generated inside.
Windows have been positioned carefully throughout the center to offer panoramic views of the surroundings, while public plazas at both the ends also offer a chance to take in the scenery (presumably in the warmer months).
Construction recently commenced on the Yabuli Conference Centre, and it is expected to be completed in 2020.
Source: MAD Architects