Zhouzhuang Theater Renovation
CAALADI (The Design Institute of Landscape and Architecture China Academy of Art) and Practice on Earth have renovated the Zhouzhuang Theater, unveiling a "luminous curtain" at the ancient town's gate in Zhouzhuang, China.
The Zhouzhuang Theater renovation is an adaptive reuse project that transforms an oversized, vacant hotel at the gateway of Zhouzhuang – one of China's earliest developed canal towns – into a public facade for immersive performance.
Responding to the dissonance between the structure's scale and the town's fine-grained texture, the design introduces a shimmering curtain of anodised aluminium.
This facade mediates heritage and modernity through minimal yet resonant intervention. Parametric workflows enabled rapid iterations, while material logic optimised fabrication and installation.
The result is a spatial threshold – technically precise, culturally attuned and socially generous – anchoring Zhouzhuang's evolving identity with architectural clarity.
This project has been shortlisted in the rebirth project category of Dezeen Awards China 2025.
Studio: CAALADI (The Design Institute of Landscape and Architecture China Academy of Art) and Practice on Earth
Project: Zhouzhuang Theater Renovation