Shijiazhuang, China

Sports Infrastructure

2021-2025

Cloud 9 Sports Center is a public sports and recreation facility located within Shijiazhuang’s newly redeveloped Central Business District. Positioned inside the city’s central park, the project is designed to serve as an extension of the park itself merging architecture, landscape, and public life into a cohesive whole.

The building is wrapped in a translucent, reflective skin that gives it a cloud-like appearance, allowing it to blend into its green surroundings. Rather than functioning solely as a gym or sports venue, the center introduces open and accessible spaces such as sloped lawns, outdoor courts, and viewing terraces that invite broader public use beyond athletic activity.

MAD reimagines the relationship between the building and the environment, using elevated platforms and layered circulation to create a porous structure that encourages movement and engagement. Interior programs are surrounded by natural light and framed views, with rooftop spaces offering immersive experiences of the surrounding cityscape.

By dissolving the boundary between the park and the building, Cloud Sports Center becomes both a recreational anchor and a public gathering space connecting people with nature, activity, and one another in the heart of the city.