北京艺术中心矗立在京杭大运河的北起点、北京的东大门通州区，这里曾经是为京城储备粮食的通州粮仓，如今已经成为承载本土和全球文化的‘文化粮仓’，它将反转古时从运河通向北京城的物流路线，反向吸引人们从城市来到运河岸边的文化新圣地。 北京艺术中心被设想为京杭大运河畔的三盏由艺术点亮的灯笼。以歌剧、戏剧与音乐等三个文化容器雕塑般的体量，融合通州当地的漕运历史与文化底蕴，重新诠释了古代运河沿岸的通州古粮仓。建筑形态与古老粮仓的屋顶造型彼此呼应，也隐喻了徐徐拉开的剧院帷幕与运河上传统船只的风帆。一个共享的平台层串联起三座剧场体量，经由通往四面八方、平缓延伸的台阶，平台将剧院大堂的公共空间向外延伸，使剧院内部空间与周边景观以及大运河更为亲密地交织在一起。 这座世界级的演艺中心由歌剧院、音乐厅、戏剧场、小剧场，以及能够容纳各类表演和活动的绿心露天剧场组成。每年将会举办近千场丰富多样的演出，内容从中国传统戏剧到歌剧，从管弦乐到舞台剧、舞蹈等，不一而足。
The Beijing Performing Arts Center is located on the banks of the Grand Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Historically, this district played a vital role in trade, as goods arriving in Tongzhou from the south were sorted and stored in warehouses before being sent to Beijing. Drawing inspiration from this legacy, the art centre is envisioned as storehouses for both local and global culture, a focal point for Beijing’s dedication to the arts. In a regional reversal, the performing arts complex will now draw Beijing residents and visitors from the city to the canal. Designed to cultivate community while promoting the health and well-being of visitors and the environment, the project embodies the site’s storied history and its bright future in a subtle poetic expression. Conceived as lanterns for the performing arts, the buildings recall Tongzhou’s importance as a commercial shipping and storage hub by referencing the rooflines of the storehouses that formerly lined the canal’s banks and the sails of traditional canal boats. The forms simultaneously evoke a theater curtain parting at the beginning of a performance. A broad plinth, accessed from all directions by splayed steps and ramps, unifies the complex. This elevated platform extends the buildings’ lobbies into the surrounding forested park, setting up the relationship between the interiors, the landscape, and the Grand Canal. The Beijing Performing Arts Centre anchors Tongzhou’s recently designated cultural district, a collection of major civic projects that also includes a museum, a library, and extensive parklands. Consisting of three world-class venues—an opera house, a theater, and a concert hall—as well as a multipurpose hall and an outdoor stage, the Beijing Performing Arts Centre will host hundreds of performances each year—everything from traditional Chinese and Western operas to orchestral performances, stage dramas, and dances.