Zhonghuan G1 proposal
Shanghai, china
Program Commercial Office, Hotel, Retail, and Public Realm
Size 43600 m²
Client Withheld
Year 2022
Conceived as a full block urban entity, the proposed scheme will become a living organism that activates the entire district around the Shanghai West railroad station. The project is comprised of four 24m multi-story buildings and a mixed-use tower at 120m. The five buildings are sculpted together with the goal to create an oval shaped green void serving as the lung of the block. The lush greenery from the ground plane is extended vertically to the tiered terraces and become a defining feature on the façade. The green park servers to not only draw a connection to the nearby rail station plaza but also significantly increases the value and the experience of the office and retail spaces within the project while providing a multitude of sustainability benefits as well.
The five buildings are designed with a consistent formal language, defined by sleek and transparent street facing facades juxtaposed with lush and terraced park facing facades. This contrast allows the development to have a clear identity towards the city and another towards its own center. Around the park, we have devised a slow moving shared street for vehicles and pedestrians. This one way loop serves the various drop off points while the alleys between buildings draw in visitors from three public streets. Each building’s core is custom designed to its unique perimeter to allow for optimized office core-to-perimeter dimensions. At the lower 4 levels above the ground floor, every floor has a generous terrace overlooking the park, achieving the goal of seamlessly bridging the indoor and outdoor. The serviced apartment is located at the 17th-24th floors of the main tower A, boasting views all around and a series of rooms with south facing terraces.
With the green lung at the center, we propose a biophilic environment that strives to integrate architecture and landscape, achieving the highest aspiration of the green building standard of China. From the shrubs in the sunken courtyard green, to the ring of deciduous trees surrounding the slow street, to the wisteria vines supported by the horizontal façade armature, the multi-level greenery integrated into all aspects of the buildings create a vibrant and lush community that changes with the seasons. The 24m buildings are also designed with a green roof system that further reduces heat island effect while providing a visual amenity to the occupants in the tower. All together, the integral landscape elements designed into this project will be in service of achieving carbon neutral goals and act together to purify air, mitigate noises, and reduce energy consumption through natural shading.
This is an ennead project completed under the leadership of Mr. Li.