Guiyang, China
Designed by the SmithGroup, Guangshun University Labs sets the goal of creating a thriving science ecosystem in the region.
The cities of Guiyang and Guangshun in China are in a moment of transition as they are being impacted by major infrastructural investments by the government.
The investments allow urban growth, which will eventually transform the two cities into a major international node that connects China to Western Europe, India, West Asia, and Northern Africa by land.
This international link will create unprecedented development and potential for these cities.
SmithGroup’s university lab project was recently awarded with a 2020 American Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The design concept for this 42-acre campus capitalizes on the region’s investment in scientific research and invention, ultimately creating a thriving science ecosystem for the city.
The campus is envisioned in a series of networked innovation villages that combine laboratory typologies (e.g., nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, biosciences, etc.) with hyperlocal contextual responses.
Each village is an independent set of facilities unified through a collaborative science incubator, allowing the villages to function as a multi-lateral bridge between universities, private industry, and communities.
The villages are economic stepping-stones leading the region from academia to business.
Each village is uniquely designed to relate to the surrounding landscapes. The designs incorporate the urban center, city edges with rivers and adjacency to agriculture, and the mountainside.
The site has very few sunny days despite being a hot, humid climate with mild winters.
To provide ample daylight throughout the entire facility, the lab spaces are situated in the core of each building, and non-lab functions are pushed to the perimeter and given double-height, 10-meter-high windows.
This strategy captures sunlight from over 20 meters into the interior.
The facilities use exterior operable shading, preventing buildings from receiving increased solar heat gains.
Furthermore, the facilities combine their energy flow using a central plant and reject heat into the rivers flowing throughout the city.
Project: Guangshun University Labs
Architects: SmithGroup
Client: Changshun Hongke Construction and Development Co., Ltd.
General Contractor: TBD
Photographers: Renderings courtesy of SmithGroup
