ZAO's concrete Rizhao Community Art Center beside a lake in Shandong, China

On a wooded hillside by a small lake in Bailuwan, or Egret Bay, on China's Yellow Sea coast, ZAO / Zhang Ke Architecture Office has finished a community art centre that seems to float. A weighty upper block rests on just three corners, while wide, eye-shaped openings cut through the level beneath, so the curves read almost as an extension of the slopes around it. It belongs to a larger residential and resort development and was built as a cultural focus for the people living there.

The arrangement is the clever part. The middle floor is left open to the landscape, its concrete ceiling rising and dipping overhead, with footbridges linking it to nearby paths and the lake on one side. It is meant for outdoor cinema, theatre and community events, or simply for walking through. Upstairs, winding passages lead past trapezoidal courtyards and small rooms, an idea drawn from the inward-looking spaces of traditional Chinese gardens, before a rooftop terrace looks out over forest and water.

Below ground, a gentle ramp descends to galleries that follow the shape of the hill, the board-marked concrete carrying the grain of its timber formwork throughout. Worth a look for anyone drawn to sculptural concrete; check access before going, as it serves a private development.

Our summary of a story from designboom, published 8 November 2026. Read the original

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