Hangzhou, China
“With the development of Qianjiang Century City and the upcoming 2022 Asia Games, this area will attract the gaze of the world. we want it to be more than a landmark commercial building, but that it can also suture itself into urban life and offer a different life experience,” states Global Design Principal of Aedas Andy Wen.
Guanyun Qiantang City, designed by Andy Wen and Nicole Lu of Aedas, is a new urban center that will become a landmark commercial complex in the core area of the Qianjiang Century City alongside the Qiantang River.
The Guanyun Qiantang City development has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Awards Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Located in the Olympic Sports Center and International Expo Center of Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, the development takes full advantage of the surrounding landscape to create a high-quality commercial, business-integrated community.
Applying the “encircled, not enclosed” notion from traditional Chinese garden designs, instills a sense of openness in the connected space.
The five towers – inspired by the Chinese axiom “ride on the wind and break through the wave”, embody at once the beauty of strength and tenderness.
Above all, creating a dynamic but tranquil space. Simulating the spirit of nature, as the Chinese traditional garden design method.
The design connects the landscape water system with the waterfront promenade to form a flowing space of “integration within the natural environment, movement onto changeable scenery.”
Bifurcated by the river, the land is tenanted with 5 office towers, ingeniously laid out to secure permeability and maximize views of the Qiantang River.
Set in the form of undulating sails to present a wider office floor plan, the two towers on the North are connected by a 3-story retail podium.
The South zone is swaddled by a looping river bank, in which three towers are organized along a green spine of vertically networked platforms, by way of providing breakout spaces for office users.
Project: Guanyun Qiantang City
Architects: Aedas
Lead Architects: Andy Wen and Nicole Lu
General Contractor: Geshan Construction Group Co., Ltd.
Client: Hangzhou Zhehong Real Estate Co., Ltd.
Photographers: Aedas, Prolog, SAN, and Fancy