Location: Chuzhou, China.

Architect: MDU architetti.

The Italian Trade Center “I Principi d’Italia” in Quanjiao, China, is a project that aims to represent the historical encounter between China and Italy. The project is a narration of a voyage between the two cultures, starting from Venice, the city that has always been the commercial and cultural connection between the two nations. The center is designed as a real city, with public places, exceptional monumental buildings, and the constant presence of water, evoking the water-towns of the Jiangnan Region. The center is organized around a grand public square-park, delimited by a transparent screen mediated by the venetian medieval frames and the traditional Chinese cerved lattice panels. The showrooms generate an urban structure with streets, public squares, and lateral water canals, where Chinese visitors can experience the same feelings as being in a historical Italian city center but with a contemporary architectural expression mediated by the world of Italian fashion and products. The project aims to create a space where the two cultures can meet and interact, creating a new dialogue and exchange.

Photo credit: mdu architetti