Hub of the action

Inspired by nature, the Hub Performance and Exhibition Centre has been designed as a ‘retreat from the heavily built context and visual overload of contemporary culture’. The interior of the main space is clad in grey sandstone, while a floating awning comprising hundreds of sticks floats above the viewer’s head.

Visitors are transported directly by escalator from the subway station to the five-storey building, which consists of a central atrium with various performance spaces leading off from it. The space also draws inspiration from local traditions, with a 750-seat performance hall encased in slatted wooden screens designed to be reminiscent of the bamboo scrolls used as a writing tool in ancient China.

The overall impression is luxurious, with oak and printed walnut featured throughout. But guests will be reminded of the area’s humble past in hand-painted tiles in the private viewing rooms, which narrate the region’s history.