Shenzhen Literature and Arts Center is located at an important urban node southeast of Lianhua Mountain, aligned with the city’s central axis. By adjusting the building massing and program, the architects raise and open up the ground floor, leading visitors to the Sky Lobby while creating an artist community on the roof with direct visual connections to the mountain. The building thus extends the public realm toward Lianhua Mountain, establishing a new urban presence above the tree canopy.

The original proposal separated the surrounding neighborhoods from Lianhua Mountain. To address this, the ground floor was lifted to maintain an unobstructed connection between the city and the mountain. The building’s ground level extends into the existing public plaza, forming an open creative district. Inspired by the Juilliard School in New York, the ground-floor interface includes cafés, design stores, and bookshops shared by artists and the public.

The grand theater, rehearsal hall, and art gallery are connected by a Sky Lobby, creating two distinct levels of arrival. The ground floor is oriented toward the public, while the third floor forms a dedicated arts environment. Visitors reach the Sky Lobby by escalator before continuing upward through spaces defined by polished masonry and soft skylights.

Each component is designed around its specific function. The theater is acoustically designed for a range of performances, including traditional Chinese opera, drama, and musicals. Inspired by the form of a quarry, the seating on the second and third levels wraps around the stage, creating an intimate relationship between the audience and performers. In the rehearsal hall, a transparent facade frames views of Lianhua Mountain, allowing the landscape to become part of the experience. The interior spaces are organized as a continuous sequence, gradually revealing different scales, views, and atmospheres as visitors move through the building.

The roof is conceived as the building’s “sixth façade,” contributing to Shenzhen’s vertical public landscape. Between the rooftop volumes, a labyrinth-like landscape draws from the tradition of Chinese gardens, creating an immersive route through a series of spatial nodes. These nodes help visitors navigate the roof while framing views of the surrounding city and mountain. Together with the artists’ studios, the rooftop provides opportunities for interaction between visitors and artists in residence. An outdoor theater faces the mountain, creating a direct relationship between landscape and performance.