Kunming, China
Formwerkz Architects take inspiration from the spatial richness of Kunming’s Stone Forest and its various labyrinthine geological formations to create the Kunming Sales Gallery for Guangzhou Seedland Real Estate Development.
The design of the sales gallery seeks to embody these elements within a tight plan that incorporates the typology’s essential components.
The project has been awarded a 2021 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
To negotiate this compactness, the scheme strikes a sinuous silhouette and an undulating volume against the hilly landscape at the city fringe.
The slightly sheared open plan and mountainous roof profile delineate and define the various programs within.
This geological design language is extended to the spatial organization, interior details, fit-out, branding, and marketing strategies of the real estate product.
This project serves as a commentary amidst the rapid transformation of countryside plots to densely built new urban centers.
The gallery steers away from ubiquity and detachment from its surroundings. Instead, it highlights the urgency to reflect and engage, at the human scale, the character of natural contexts in China’s emerging second-tier cities.
External material selection, such as tile and imitation wood products, was aimed to conserve natural resources by using sustainable products which require minimal maintenance.
Project: Kunming Sales Gallery
Architects: Formwerkz Architects LLP
Client: Guangzhou Seedland Real Estate Development Co. Ltd.
General Contractor: Suzhou Gold Mantis Building Decoration Co., Ltd.
Photographer: Fabian Ong
