The emerging community of Lingang in the Pudong New Area will have a world-class art center in 2023, according to a plan released on Tuesday.

The Lingang Art Center will be built on the biggest of the three islands on Dishui Lake. It will  feature a 1,500-seat theater and a 400-seat multifunctional hall.

“Lingang has become a smart manufacturing base and represents the concept of a future city,” said Chen Jie, Party chief of Lingang management committee. “We hope the new art center will represent harmonious relation between humans and nature, and the perfect combination of scientific spirit and artistic beauty. And we hope it can help the island to become  a new cultural landmark.”

Four design firms, Foster+Partners and Heatherwick Studio Limited from the UK, 2Portezamparc from France and SNOHETTA from Norway are bidding for the project and will present their design to Lingang in May.

Foster+Partners, designer of Apple’s headquarters in California and the main exhibition hall of the 2020 Dubai Expo, traditionally incorporates the latest technology into designs. 

Heatherwick Studio, which designed the UK Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, hopes to find something special in the local environment.

SNOHETTA structures aspire to be seen as part of the nature. And 2Portezamparc has designed many art venues around the world.

There are three islands on the Dishui Lake. The southern island is intended to be a place for weekend getaways with a five-star hotel and a yacht marina. The western island will eventually hold business and commercial properties.