Yidan Center , Shenzhen/ China

Press release by Zaha Hadid Architects, London | November 11, 2025

 

Shenzhen, China

 

 

 

 

 

Established by Dr Charles Chen Yidan (core founder of the global technology company Tencent), Chen Yidan Foundation strives for the diversification of education ecosystems to achieve sustainable growth and development.

 

Founding the Yidan Prize in 2016 to recognise the most innovative minds in educational research and practice, Dr. Yidan is building a global community dedicated to improving the quality of education around the world.

 

Combining the resources of the Yidan Prize's worldwide network and the Chen Yidan Foundation's detailed knowledge of the education sector, the new Yidan Center will be home to research and practice platforms that promote lifelong learning and innovations in education. The center will also provide a nurturing environment for a broader community of institutions and organizations, supporting their growth and collectively fostering an effective ecosystem that shapes the future of education for the 21st century.

 

As the new international headquarters of the Yidan Prize, the Yidan Center will offer a varied program of cultural events, exhibitions and activities for its community in China and its partners across the globe.

 

The Yidan Center will also be the hub of the learning-focused community YiPai, providing a diverse range of learning experiences and empowering lifelong exploration and development. Situated on the lower levels of the building, YiPai will create an inclusive and welcoming environment for people of all ages and backgrounds.

 

Informed by the canyons and valleys of the surrounding mountainous landscapes that have been used as routes of travel and communication for millennia, the Yidan Center is designed as a place of convergence and collaboration—emulating Shenzhen’s position as a global hub of innovation and discovery. Welcoming pioneering scientists, innovators and academics from across the globe, the city of Shenzhen has become one of the world’s most dynamic cities.

 

Together with the adjacent Qianhai Museum, the landmark 165,815 sq. m Yidan Center will define an important new cultural destination for the city.

 

Incorporating terraces and balconies overlooking a central outdoor ‘canyon’, the Yidan Center’s design promotes connectivity and interaction while blurring the boundary between interior and exterior.

 

Verdant gardens guide visitors from the surrounding streets to the base of the center’s ‘canyon’ with views of the geologic architectural formations overhead. A large oculus skylight at the base of the ‘canyon’ floods the interiors below with natural light and enables visitors within these indoor public spaces to experience the center’s architecture above.

 

Designed to achieve the highest three-star standard of China's National Green Building Program as well as LEED Gold certification, the center’s external louvres provide effective solar shading that permits natural light deep within the interiors while offering panoramic views of Qianhai Bay. These louvres also enhance the striated, geological formations of the architecture.

 

Conveying the center’s ethos of transparency and knowledge sharing, the Yidan Center’s façade has been designed as a dynamic filter incorporating insulated double-glazed units combined with hybrid natural ventilation to achieve optimal thermal performance and enhanced visibility. The center’s variable air volume (VAV) system ensures interior comfort and energy reductions in the humid subtropical climate of southern China. To further reduce energy and water demand from the municipal networks, photovoltaic panels are integrated within the design, while the center’s architecture and gardens incorporate the collection and storage of rainwater for reuse.

 

Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)

 

ZHA Principal: Patrik Schumacher

ZHA Project Director: Manuela Gatto

ZHA Project Associate Director: Shao-wei Huang

ZHA Project Associate: Houzhe Xu, Massimo Napoleoni

ZHA Technical Coordination: Kutbuddin Nadiadi, Takehiko Iseki, Yevgeniya Pozigun

ZHA Project Team: Armando Bussey, Besan Abudayah, Bowen Miao, Catherine McCann, Haohao Chen, Haoyue Zhang, Ignacio Fernandez De Castro, Jessica Wang, Jonathan Zisser, Jose Pareja Gomez, John Simpson, Kate Hunter, Laizhen Wu, Marco Vanucci, Maria Avrami, Mauro Sabiu, Nelli Denisova, Ningxin Zheng, Othmane Kandri, Sandi Nurpeissova, Thomas Bagnoli, Veronica Erspamer, Yaniv Hatiel Pini, Yun Yu Huang, Zixin Ye, Ziyuan Gao

 

ZHA Project Director: Manuela Gatto, Paulo Flores

ZHA Project Associate: Yevgeniya Pozigun

ZHA Competition Team: Aiste Dzikaraite, Ben Kikkawa, Berkin Islam, Besan Abudayah, Bogdan Zaha, Carolina Lopez-Blanco, Catherine McCann, Evgeniya Yatsyuk, Houzhe Xu, Igor Pantic, Jessica Wang, Jinqi Huang, Jose Pareja Gomez, Karoly Markos, Kate Hunter, Kutbuddin Nadiadi, Li Jin, Marco Vanucci, Marko Margeta, Martin Gsandtner, Nelli Denisova, Olga Yatsyuk, Rachelle Spiteri, Sven Torres, Taras Kashko, Vincent Yeung

ZHA Sustainability team: Carlos Bausa Martinez, Aditya Ambare, Aleksander Mastalski

ZHA Interior team: Kar Hwa Ho, Bidisha Sinha, Afsoon Eshaghi, Anna Adebayo, Aysu Aysoy, Chhavi Mehta, Sonia Renehan

ZHA Workplace planning team: Ulrich Blum, Lorena Espaillat Bencosme, Philipp Siedler

ZHA Graphic Designer: Alex Turner

 

本地设计院 Local Design Institute: 深圳市建筑设计研究总院有限公司 Shenzhen General Institute of Architectural Design and Research

幕墙设计顾问 Façade consultant: 同创金泰建筑技术（北京）有限公司 China Construction & Architecture Technology

景观设计顾问 Landscape consultant: 笛东规划设计（北京）股份有限公司 DDON

声学及场馆咨询顾问 Acoustics and venue consultant: 奥雅纳工程咨询（上海）有限公司 Arup International Consultants (Shanghai)

绿建顾问 Sustainability consultant: 深圳市建筑科学研究院股份有限公司  Shenzhen Institute of Building Research

幕墙维护顾问 Façade maintenance: 瓴邦建筑工程技术咨询（上海）有限公司 Ling Bang Building Engineering Technology Consulting

项目管理 Project management: 上海科瑞真诚建设项目管理有限公司 Shanghai K&Z construction project management

结构与机电咨询顾问 Structure and MEP consultant: 迈进 Meinhardt