A Chinese Wedding

A wedding in China is an issue in which many aspects have to be considered. First one needs a lucky date, chosen by an expert, for the traditional family party.

However, before the party takes place, the bride and groom need an official certificate issued by the Civil Affairs Department. Traditionally, the parents arranged the wedding. The New Marriage Law was enacted in 1950 and superseded by the Second Marriage Law in 1980. In 1950 the women’s rights were newly defined, and the marriage age was fixed to the age of 20 for males and 18 for females. In 1980 the one-child-policy as well as the liberalized divorce were regulated with the law. Since then, the marriage registration office, which is closely associated with the Civil Affairs Department, registers all weddings. For the official act the couple needs to show several official certificates, which makes the supposedly romantic and exciting moment a bureaucratic act in a boring office building.

With the new Nanshan Wedding Centre in the Nanshan District of Shenzhen the architects of urbanus tried to bring back the romantic and exciting moments to the act of registration. So far the registration was seen as a formal necessity, but without any flair in a rather informal atmosphere.

Furthermore, young couples begin to oppose the custom of expensive parties with family and friends, but celebrate instead a so-called “naked marriage” without traditional and expensive ceremonies. The new role of government institutions, and how they want to be seen in the society, further questions the public presence for offices connected to civil affairs.

The Nanshan Wedding Centre is a new type of building that reflects the changing role of government institutions. Besides its function it also provides a new public space for other users from the community. As we see in the photos, this place is especially popular with young women with children.

From the outside the wedding centre is reminiscent of a Christian chapel in form and aesthetics, and according to the architects, the building should help to create a “spiritual atmosphere” for the marriage registration.

However, the interior arrangement follows functional requirements. The exterior and interior arrangement is based on a strict choreography: a ceremonial path connects, across a reflecting pool, the open entrance pavilion and the circular wedding centre, where the couple arrives in the building. Inside they can take photos, prepare themselves for the big moment and register in the office on the first floor. Newly married they leave the building from the first floor on a ramp, again across the reflecting pool, arriving at the same spot from where they started. Inside the building the different functions are placed in white organically formed elements, connected by a stairway from the ground floor.

A double layer facade, made of glass and a metal grid with abstract ornaments, covers the heterogeneous elements. The shadow play from this decoration on the curved walls creates a sparkling atmosphere.

The building is located in Lijing Park, facing a street corner. The façade design with reflecting patterns resembles jewellery and encases the ceremonial sense of a wedding, but also indicates the building as a symbolic landmark. In many other aspects Shenzhen has been the forerunner for new things in Chinese life.

The city, since 2009 labelled “City of Design” by the UNESCO, received an interesting new building type with the Nanshan Wedding Centre. The architects of urbanus and the administration of Nanshan District explore a new expression for a civil ritual that can set a new standard in a country with over nine million weddings annually.