He Zhu

My design aims to become a living part of the Canal Quarter’s creative community. Rather than standing alone, it would work as a kind of “creative incubator”—a place where artists can experiment, make, and develop ideas. It’s the gap left by existing venues by offering residents studios and open workshops, helping to form a full cycle of “making → nurturing → showing” alongside the neighbouring theatres.

In spatial terms, a new public square acts as an “urban living room,” a welcoming space that brings people together and links the area’s different artistic destinations through simple, intuitive circulation.

And on a narrative level, the project builds on the site’s industrial and theatre heritage. By reinterpreting these stories, it extends the cultural timeline of the Canal Quarter—connecting the “past” embodied by the Grand Theatre, the “present” represented by The Dukes, and a shared vision of the “future” that this new building hopes to inspire.