White bamboo forest: Wuxi Taihu Show Theatre by Steven Chilton Architects

Steven Chilton Architects is building the Wuxi Taihu Show Theatre – an abstract impression of a bamboo landscape – near Taihu Lake in the Yangtze River delta region of China. A 'bamboo forest' consisting of slender 'bamboo stalks' and a 'canopy of leaves' encircles the theatre building, thus separating it from the surrounding landscape.

The latticed canopy is made up of triangular louvres in anodised aluminium, with the geometric shapes set at differing angles in a random positioning, thus varying the play of light and shade inside the theatre depending on the time of day. At the same time the arrangement of the canopy of 'leaves' and 'bamboo stalks' around the building reduces the need for cooling.

The building envelope at the Wuxi Taihu Show Theatre mainly consists of blockwork and a glazed curtain wall. The project is currently shortlisted for the 2018 World Architecture Festival Future Project Award. The Wuxi Taihu Show Theatre is scheduled to open in December 2019.