The new 'Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Congress Center’ designed by MAD Architects is nearing completion in the snow-covered mountains of Northeastern China. 

Released with latest photographs, the project features an undulating, curved roof that becomes part of the landscape. 

Commissioned in 2017 by the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum (Yabuli CEF), one of China’s most influential business organizations, the organization collaborated with MAD Architects to design a permanent venue for their annual summits.

The new building would have been a landmark "which could carry their members’ entrepreneurial spirit." November 18th to 20th saw the venue’s opening ceremony and its first event, the Yabuli CEF’s 20th annual conference, attended by over 600 entrepreneurs.

Image © Agovision

MAD envisioned a building embedded in the mountain forest, a place of strong vitality and creativity to embody the entrepreneurs’ boldness and wisdom. 

The 16,000-square-metre building is nestled among Yabuli’s mountainous terrain, MAD’s scheme "evokes the concept of a tent sitting at the foot of a mountain, with its soft, curving, silver-white rooftop echoing the snow-capped hills surrounding it."

Image © creatAR images

The building comprises spaces for large-scale conferences, alongside an exhibition hall, meeting rooms, and a television hall, creating a blend of mixed-use spaces that can accommodate conferences, corporate training, and other events. 

During the day, natural light floods the internal spaces through a giant glass skylight. At night, the same skylight allows a warm glow to soar from the building into the cold mountain forest, evoking the image of a campfire around which entrepreneurs share ideas, thoughts, and stories. 

Image © ArchExist

Inside, MAD uses a blend of wooden walls and natural light to create a warm, soft atmosphere, while an outdoor public plaza and glass walkway allow users to marvel and be inspired by the connection between architecture and nature.

The venue is also open to the public, with the exhibition hall serving as a valuable tool for showcasing and exploring Chinese entrepreneurship.

Image © ArchExist

Reflecting on the project, the President of the Yabuli CEF said, "After over forty years of the ‘reform and opening-up policy’, Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Congress Center is now a spiritual sanctuary that Chinese entrepreneurs are and will be in awe of."

Image © Agovision

Image © ArchExist

Image © Agovision

Image © Agovision

Image © Agovision

Image © ArchExist

Image © Agovision

Image © ArchExist

Image © ArchExist

Project facts

Project name: Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Congress Center

Location: Yabuli, China

Date: 2017-2020

Site Area: 22,000 sqm

Building Area: 16,198 sqm

Building Height: 23.3 m

Principal Partners in Charge: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano

Associate Partners in Charge: Liu Huiying, Tiffany Dahlen

Design Team: Li Guangchong, Sun Shouquan, Deng Wei, Song Chi, Zhang Xiaomei, Huai Wei, Zhao Meng, Wang Shuobin, Zhang Yanru, Yuki Ishigami, Xiao Ying, Tian Jin

Client: China Entrepreneur Forum

Executive Architects: China Architecture Design & Research Group

Façade Consultant: RFR Shanghai, Kighton Façade Consultant

Landscape Architects: BJF International Design

Interior Design Consultant: Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Decoration & Landscape Design Research Institute Co., Ltd.

Lighting Consultant: Brandston Partnership Inc.

Signage Consultant: Dongdao Creative Branding Group

Acoustics Consultant: Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning & Design Institute

LEED Consultant: AECOM Beijing

Top image © Agovision

> via MAD