A Tent Beneath Snow Mountains

Inspired by the mountains all around and the spirit of exploration, this multi-functional congress centre seamlessly merges with its snow-capped surroundings

The city of Yabuli in the Heilongjiang Province of China is a popular ski town, with the largest snow training centre in the country and the longest alpine ski slope in Asia. Located here on a site of 22,000 sq m with a total interior area of 16,000 sq m, Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Congress Center, designed by MAD Architects—an international firm led by architect Ma Yansong, consists of a library, exhibition halls, and more than 20 well-equipped multi-functional rooms.

This new permanent site is designated to host the annual event of China Entrepreneurs Forum (CEF) as well as the Chinese Entrepreneurs Museum. The centre also hosts educational programmes for entrepreneurs and corporations, which can accommodate big conferences, exhibitions, corporate training programmes and think tanks simultaneously.

The congress centre was designed such as to blend into the surrounding scenery and topography. From a distance, it looks like a giant white tent, floating down from the top of the mountain, then gently dissipating into the snow. The undulating ridgelines of the roof structure is inspired by the shape of distant snow-capped mountains, while the organic and biological texture of the white aluminum panels recall the contours of fresh snow.

The interior layout and circulation works with the building’s height differences that follow the downward slope of the hill, leaving part of the building hidden underground. The main entrance is on the ground floor by the east side but the side entrance and exit are located on the second floor by the west side. While walking uphill in the snow, people see this structure as a humble gesture with open arms. The farthest ends of the curved roof cantilever up to 20 metres to provide shelter for passersby from inclement weather.