Device of Perception
Cultural Center for Yuting Zhang
The Device of Perception is a cultural center located adjacent to Zarco Plaza in Mexico City in between the low rise colonial historic quarter and the high rise commercial development. The project exploits its own urban surroundings and serves as not only an exhibition space but a device of perception for the public to explore the city's unique history and cultural legacies. The perception is twofold in this project. One is the exterior plaza as the extension of the interior stage, the other is a spiral path with various scenery frames as the narrative to understand the city.
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Device of Perception by Yuting Zhang
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Device of Perception Cultural Center Press Releases
Our Device of Perception press releases are ready in languages: English, for your convenience.
Device of Perception Cultural Center Media Articles
For immediate use: Device of Perception articles, available in languages such as Chinese (Mandarin), Dutch, English, Italian, Spanish, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, Russian, German, French, Portuguese, Hindi, Turkish and Arabic (Standard), to enrich your content.
Unique Properties
The site is in between the low rise colonial historic quarter and the high rise commercial development, as an intersection node full of complexity in Mexico City. The cultural center is not only an exhibition space for Mexico City but could also be regarded as the device of perception. The perception is twofold in this project. One is that exterior plaza as the extension of the interior stage, the other is that a spiral path with various scenery frames as the narrative to understand the city.
Tags
cultural center, gallery, theater, exhibition
Production Technology
The cultural center is constructed using reinforced concrete. Informed by “stereotomic” architecture, the board-marked concrete walls of the center are treated as a found object. Corten is another material been introduced to the project. The use of the weathering steel creates an immediate visual link between past, present, and future.
Design Challenge
The selected site is adjacent to Zarco Plaza, public plaza alongside the Church of San Judeas Tadeo, near the convent of San Hipolito, located on Reforma Avenue at Avenida Hidalgo, which is an intersection node full of complexity in Mexico City. The design challenges are how to use space to fully interprete the surrounding urban context and the rich cultural and history narratices.
Project Duration
2017 in Mexico City
Operation Flow
The sunken entrance plaza of the cultural center creates a tranquil start of the narrative, separating the cultural center from the heavy traffic La Reforma Avenue. The lower ground floor surrounding the sunken plaza houses the art storage facilities and a cafe, maximizing publicly accessible space continues from the plaza into the lobby of the building. Each floor of the short tower is twisted a quarter turn, which creates a large spiral public gallery as the extension of the interior exhibition space. The story of the city has been told through the switch-over between the interior gallery and different compositions of historical layers from the breaking points/openings in the cube of the spiral path. Two auditoriums have been embedded in this spiral discourse, with lectures, talks, debates, conferences, and film screenings conducted in front of the urban backdrop.
Research
Explore how experimental miniature stage was used as a space in which objects, 2-‐dimensional drawings and 3-‐dimensional constructions of different scales could coexist in a seemingly unproblematic way, to see how the same spatial base was used to accommodate different scenarios and situations, just by moving props around, adding surfaces and changing backdrops.
Inspiration
Aldo Rossi's Project the Small Scientific Theatre from 1978 is taken as a starting point to reflect upon the relation between architecture and image, and between object/ prop and space/ stage. The theatrino models made for the project then have borrowed this primary idea from Aldo Rossi to explore how does the Zarco Plaza could be regarded as the extension of the stage of the auditorium. The definition of performers has been extended in the exploration.
Image Credits
Yuting Zhang
Project Overview
Device of Perception Cultural Center has been a Bronze winner in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design award category in the year 2021 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
Bronze Recognition
Yuting Zhang was recognized with the coveted Bronze A' Design Award in 2022, a testament to excellence of their work Device of Perception Cultural Center.
Yuting Zhang Press Releases
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Introducing Device of Perception: A Cultural Center by Yuting Zhang
Yuting Zhang's Device of Perception is a cultural center located in Mexico City, designed to serve as an exhibition space and a unique device for public exploration of the city's history and cultural legacies.
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