Renovation of Shanghai Children’s Art Theater using aluminum parts,
Shanghai Children’s Art Theater designed by Wujie Rong is one of the institutions’ pavilions
during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, named GM Pavilion
It provides high-tech means to show the future vision of urban mobility systems to people,
and its concept was inspired by the shape of auto parts with a spiral-shaped curve,
symbolizing the bright future of the automotive industry.
Aluminum is the most common material in the automotive industry and more than 4,000 irregular pieces of aluminum plates have been used.
They were placed by BIM and 3D laser scanning technology during construction.
SAIC-GM Pavilion was originally built as a temporary building,
so some components such as steel beams and LED screens can technically be recycled.
Instead of using a fully welded structure, “bolt” technology was applied in addition to “spot welding”
to ensure comprehensive use of recyclable building materials.
After the World Expo, the Shanghai Municipal Government finally decided to convert
the SAIC-GM Pavilion into the Shanghai Children’s Art Theater.
The theater included a 1,088-seat auditorium, a 300-seat theater,
a children’s training center, and other facilities.
By chance this temporary building was renovated into a permanent building
with new functional requirements by the same design team.
Renovation of Shanghai Children’s Art Theater using aluminum parts
Part of the open space on the first floor is also surrounded by a small theater
and activity center for children.
By utilizing the original interlayer of the first floor of the events training center
and expanding the office space on the upper floor, the original space was fully explored and moved.
Converting the main exhibition area to the central stage was
the most difficult part of the entire renovation process.
The 484-seat circular display area has been replaced by a 270-degree central island stage to provide 1,088 seats.
The original adjustable screens have also been removed,
and in order to add ancillary walkways and bridges, the original diameter of the main exhibition area has been reduced from 55m to 35m.
A bright orange canopy has also been added to break up the cool silver surface,
and more curved elements of the interior decoration are used to meet the children’s theme.
Several effective measures including structural strengthening
and re-installation of the metal curtain wall were taken to ensure the security of the renovated building.
After several months of renovations, the SAIC-GM Pavilion has been converted into
an advanced public art facility for children and is also a successful example of the use of ‘post-exhibition’ buildings.
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