Sea World Culture and Arts Center, Arts museum in Shekou, China
The Sea World Culture and Arts Center is an arts museum in Shekou featuring a sculptural platform for exhibitions and three connected volumes housing a theater, dining facilities, and event spaces. The building is organized into separate plazas: the Culture Plaza with its theater, the Central Plaza with retail areas, and the Waterfront Plaza facing the water.
The building was designed in 2017 by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki through a partnership between China Merchants Group and the Victoria and Albert Museum. This was Maki's first building in China and marked a major collaboration between East Asian design expertise and Western cultural institutions.
The center hosts the Shekou Museum of Reform and Opening Up and the V&A Gallery, managed by Design Society in partnership with international institutions. Visitors can see local artworks and design pieces that show how Chinese creativity connects with global influences.
Visitors can reach different areas through three distinct plazas: the Culture Plaza with theater, the Central Plaza with shops, and the Waterfront Plaza. The open layout makes it easy to walk between areas and find your way around.
The building uses different stones for each plaza: red Indian sandstone, white Sivec marble, and blue Azul Bahia granite to visually mark separate functional zones. This choice of natural stones creates visible transitions that make the design concept clear when walking through the site.
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