Archi-Tectonics

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CHALLENGE
Selected from a group of 5 international firms, Archi-Tectonics won this invited competition for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou/ China. The project faced three major challenges. First, it had to transform a barren 1.6 kilometer site bisected by a major road into an active public landscape. Second, the design had to offer facilities tailor-made for the Games events that would remain useful after they ended, as well as a 30,000 SF fitness center and community center. Third, it had to set the course for sustainable, ecologically conscious development in Hangzhou, one of China’s densest and fastest-growing cities.

INNOVATION
Archi-Tectonics incorporated 7 buildings into a recreational landscape that activates the entire site. The 2 stadiums on opposite ends serve as anchors, and are connected by a pedestrian valley that passes under the road. Named the Valley Village Mall, this pedestrian spine is lined with shops, restaurants, cafes, kiosks, and outdoor gathering areas. To transition the park after the games, the design supports uses ranging from shopping to hiking, birdwatching, boating, outdoor concerts, and major cultural events. Using a zero-earth landscape strategy, the design restores wetlands and transforms the previously flat site into a rolling hillscape. These interventions turn the site into a “Sponge City” that collects, filters, and reuses rainwater for water features, irrigation, plumbing, heating and cooling, and wetlands generation.

IMPACT
The park extends the activity of the streets into the landscape to add a much-needed green heart to the area, strengthens and diversifies the ecology its entire context, and creates a new center of public life in Hangzhou that will be used long after the Games end. The design is well-equipped to house activities like nature walks, basketball and skateboarding, shopping, picnics, waterfront dining, community events, and more.

Credits

Year: Competition won: 2018, Construction phase: 2020, Substantial completion: 2021

Location: Hangzhou, China

Client: Government: Gongshu District City Village Reconstruction Department

Project Type: Exterior commercial mall, public facilities, and underground parking

Size: 36,000 m2 (387,500 ft2)

Design Team: Design Team: Principal in charge: Winka Dubbeldam, Assoc. AIA | Project Leader: Justin Korhammer | Main Designers: Paul Starosta, Max Boerman | Archi-Tectonics Team: Dongliang Li, Maud Fonteyne, Soyeon Cha, Boden Davies, Alex Bahr, Dan Rothbart, Bowen Qin

Consultants: Structural Engineers: Thornton Tomasetti | Transport Planning: Mobility in Chain, Italy | Mechanical Engineers: Ryan Soames Engineering

Collaborators: !melk Landscape Design | UAD Research group, Hangzhou, China

Renderings and Diagrams: Archi-Tectonics | MIC | !melk

Credits

Publications