Nanchang Waves / OCT · Vanke Waterfront City, the Foating Pier
Xihu District, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, China
Nordic—Office of Architecture has completed Nanchang Waves, a “waterscape,” inspired cultural and commercial complex near a sprawling residential development in Nanchang, the capital city of eastern China’s landlocked Jiangxi province.
Nordic Office of architecture, a firm based in Oslo, with offices in Copenhagen, London, and Reykjavik, says that the landscape design of the front square is integrated with the ancient water culture of Nanchang and the landscape of the adjacent lake.
“Each of the landscape nodes contain functions for people of different ages and provide interesting and memorable spatial experiences,” explain the architects.
Meant to serve as a bustling, multi-functional community hub for local residents, the rooftop garden-topped main building of Nanchang Waves, which “forms a continuation of the landscape elements in three dimensions through the language of stretched curves and waves,” is home to retail, commercial, gallery, and event spaces.
Located adjacent to Elephant Lake Wetland Park, the complex encompasses a gross built area of nearly 63,000 square feet amongst an undulating landscape of plazas, public gardens, and al fresco gathering spaces including an outdoor amphitheater.
Bookending the sinuous, squat volume is the highly conspicuous pièce de résistance of Nanchang Waves: A corkscrewing observation tower that rises 115 feet above the surrounding wetlands and, per the architects, “represents the blueprint for future living and the new spirit of the city.”
According to the project’s structural engineer Ramboll Group, the tower’s “UFO-like” observation deck, accessible via a 23-foot wide double-helix spiral staircase, spans just over 7,000 square feet.
As the architects explain, the design of the three distinct zones within Nanchang Waves—a unique “spatial experience where the building and the landscape blend together”—corresponds with a different natural element: water (the front public plaza), earth (the commercial/retail spaces), and sky (the observation tower, naturally).
“Nanchang has a long tradition of towers, such as the Teng Wang Pavilion, one of the three most famous buildings in Jiangnan, and the Shenjin Pagoda, which has stood here for thousands of years, and when gazing out from the viewing tower one can see the Wanshou Pagoda, located in the wetland park. The viewing tower responds to this local culture of towers and has itself become a new landmark, representing modern life in Nanchang,” state the architects.
“The double spiral staircase serves a greater function than simply allowing one to get up and down from the viewing tower. It is an interesting journey in itself, curving around and providing wonderful vistas along the way. When reaching the top, one enters the observation deck, where people can get an unparalleled view of the natural landscape of the nearby wetlands, admire the city skyline in the distance, and experience the changing landscape at sunrise and sunset.”
Spiraling Wetlands Tower in Nanchang Spiraling Wetlands Tower in Nanchang Spiraling Wetlands Tower in Nanchang Spiraling Wetlands Tower in Nanchang Spiraling Wetlands Tower in Nanchang
Project Credits
Architects: Nordic—Office of Architecture
Design Team: Thomas Lindgård Fagernes, Zhang Yang, Diana Cruz, Pedro Joel Costa,
Lucia Borg, Valentina Glavica
Client: Jiangxi Vanke (Zhu Shu, Wan Luobin, Zhou Qinghua, Li Jialei, Zhang Dengchun,
Chang Yumeng, Li Huile)
Consultants: Vanke Shanghai Area VANSN (Qi Wei, Jiang Ziqi)
Landscape Architects: Zhu Yufan Studio (Zhu Yufan, Yao Yujun, Ma Ke, Qiu Baiwei, Zhang Boya, Liu Yunshuo, Zhang Ning, Cao Tianhao, Yang Yuxin, Liu Si, Cheng Piao, Jia Mingrui)
Structural Consultants: Rambøll
Project General Contracting: Zhongtian Construction Group Co., Ltd.
Landscape Construction: Hangzhou Tianqin Landscape Engineering Co., Ltd.
