Hasta La Ideas

When Zaha Hadid Architects’ 330,000-square-metre Galaxy Soho complex opened in Beijing last month our readers were left guessing how it relates to the surrounding neighbourhood. This set of images by photographers Hufton + Crow shows just that (+ slideshow).

Completed last month by Zaha Hadid Architects, the retail, office and entertainment complex comprises four domed structures, which are fused together by bridges and platforms around a series of public courtyards and a large central “canyon”.

The buildings sit within the second-ring business district in the north-east of the city, but are also prominently visible from the narrow alleyways of the densely populated surrounding neighbourhoods.

These ancient passages, named hutongs, have been typical of Beijing’s urban fabric for hundreds of years, but have been in decline since the mid-twentieth century as the city’s development continues to increase.

The architect claims that the buildings respond to and are respectful of China’s historic building typologies, with courtyards and “fluid movement” between spaces.

“The design responds to the varied contextual relationships and dynamic conditions of Beijing,” said Hadid at the time of the opening. “We have created a variety of public spaces that directly engage with the city, reinterpreting the traditional urban fabric and contemporary living patterns into a seamless urban landscape inspired by nature.”

The decline of Beiijing’s hutongs was one of the issues addressed during this year’s Beijing Design Week. The event’s director Aric Chen commented during the festival that contemporary China should “slow down” and look to “craft thinking” to deal with the disparity between the country’s small and large-scale design challenges.

In other recent news, designer Michael Young has tipped China to have a design scene that will rival Japan’s in less than 20 years.

You can see more images of Galaxy Soho in our earlier story, following the opening last month.

Zaha Hadid Architects has also just been selected to design a new national stadium for Japan and completed an art gallery at Michigan State University.

See all our stories about Zaha Hadid Architects »

See all our stories about China »

Photography is by Hufton + Crow.

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photographed by Hufton + Crow appeared first on Dezeen.

Architecture and design studio HRC Design Works has transformed an ageing warehouse beside the HuangPu River in Shanghai into a leisure and shopping destination with a plant-covered cafe and a cave-like shoe store.

Sotto Sotto is positioned beside the old dock in the South Bund district and HRC Design Works designed the building as an attraction that would bring new visitors to the area whilst respecting the history of the converted building.

The architects used raw materials such as stone, copper and unfinished wood to make connections with nature in each space, as well as to respect the existing structure. “We’d rather have pure original structure than style,” they explain.

The new spaces include shops, cafes and wine bars, as well as a cigar lounge and reception area.

HRC Design Works founded their studio in Singapore, but moved back to Shanghai in 2009. “There is a crowd of people in China who have resided and studied abroad for several years, but are now coming back to the mainland to realise their dreams,” explain the designers.

The South Bund district is also home to The Waterhouse, a boutique hotel in a disused army headquarters, which was named best interiors project at the Inside awards in 2011.

Last week Dezeen visited Shanghai to take part in a series of discussions about architecture and design in China. See the snapshots from our trip on Facebook, or read about Neri&Hu’s new Shanghai design centre in our earlier story.

While we were there, Hong Kong-based designer Michael Young also tipped China to have as many world-class designers as Japan within 20 years.

See all our stories about Shanghai »
See all our stories about China »

Photography is by Peter Dixie.

Here’s some more information from HRC Design Works:

Sotto Sotto, which in an ancient warehouse, is located along the HuangPu River. It is also called Old Dock. The long history was consisted of the conceptions from ShiLiuPu, Li HongZhang, Titain QingBang, Huang JingRong, DuYueSheng and MinSheng Company. Here used to be the most prosperous port in Shanghai. And now, we choose here to let people enjoy a new life style and shopping experience.

Here to collect for luxury shops, café, red wine and cigar. Combined with arts auctions and original home furnishing brands, we are also advocating a brand new shopping experience and relaxation area. When you go through the shopping area and come to the cafes, have a taste of the coffee, enjoying the view of the ships, letting the wind blowing hair, having free rein to your imagination. How luxury it is to have such a wonderful time in the afternoon, which is popular with those people who have high demand of lifestyle.

In this ancient warehouse, we design it on the basis of respect and protection. Combining the recognition and history with the new environment, we always make every effort to make city architecture readable. As far as the ancient city architecture is concerned, designers think it should be readable as literature. It’s quite important that people can read its history and rich charm. Therefore, we’d rather have pure original structure than style. Here is the perfect place for you to relax from the fast pace of the city life. Under relaxing shopping atmosphere, you can look back from the past to present and future. All things here is the memory, the memory of the ancient architecture, the memory the people in this generation. The ancient wood, the sheet cooper, the bearing wood are reminding people to find themselves in this poetical space and learn a new life style through their new personal experience.

Project: The Bund SOTTO SOTTO
Location: Shanghai
Owner: Private
Design Studio: HRC DESIGN WORKS PTE.LTD.(Singapore)
Designer: Fei Liu
Area: 1400 Sq.m.
Material: Marble, Stainless Steel, Wood Board
End Time: Aug. 6 2012

Above: floor plan – click above for larger image

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HRC Design Works appeared first on Dezeen.

News: China will produce as many world-class designers as Japan within 20 years, according to Hong Kong-based industrial designer Michael Young.

“In 20 years time, Shanghai is going to be like Tokyo,” the British-born designer said. “When I [first] went to Tokyo 20 years ago, Japan was still classified as a country that was copying design and doing poor-quality products. Now it’s got some of the greatest designers in the world. I think it will be the same for China.”

Speaking to Dezeen in Shanghai last week, Young said the country’s combination of world-class engineering capabilities and a new generation of home-grown, style-conscious industrialists meant that it was rapidly shaking off its reputation for poor quality manufacturing and copying.

“There’s more investment opportunity than anywhere else in the universe,” Young said. “Then you’ve got Shenzhen and Guangzhou just over the border [from Hong Kong], so you’ve got the biggest manufacturing base. So you put those two together and you’re in a dream scenario for a designer.”

Young relocated to Hong Kong seven years ago to take advantage of the booming Chinese economy and its mass-production facilities. He said foreign-educated Chinese were returning to the country to take over family engineering firms and pushing design up the agenda.

“A lot of families who’ve got large manufacturing bases want to do something cool,” he said. “I’m working with a lot of younger generation families; people who’ve been to New York and studied and come back here to open a factory. They don’t want to make screw-tips for aerials in their factories; they want to make things like Bluetooth wireless technology products.”

Young made the comments in an interview with Dezeen at the opening of Design Republic Design Commune, a new design gallery, store and event space located in a converted former colonial police station in Shanghai’s Jingan district. The building is designed and owned by Shanghai architects Neri&Hu Design and Research Office.  The architects invited a group of leading international designers, brands and media, including Young and Dezeen, to take part in a series of discussions about architecture and design in China.

Born in 1966, Young graduated from Kingston University in 1992 and ran studios in London, Reykjavík and Brussels before moving to Hong Kong in 2006. Recent products designed by Young include a revamp of the classic Mini Moke and the best-selling Hacker watch.

Young also praised China for having “some of the best engineering facilities in the world” and said fears about copying in China were overstated. “What I find really annoying is the misconception about copying in China,” he said. “Of course everywhere in the world has copying as much as China. If you consider the number of factories here, the volume of output here, it’s a very small percentage of what’s actually going on. I find the investment in innovation higher than anywhere else in the world.”

Chinese factories were willing to tackle complex design problems that European brands would find too difficult, Young said. “For me the level of engineering here allows me to exploit the kinds of ideas that I can’t do in other countries. If I take some of the ideas I’ve got to Europe, people will just look at me and say its too complicated and the door will close immediately. Nothing surpasses the equipment in the factories in China; the level of engineering skills and the quality of production is so high – we all know that from the various computer brands how high the engineering skills can be here.”

See all our stories about Michael Young | See all our stories about Shanghai

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– Michael Young appeared first on Dezeen.

News: work is about to start on a high-density, car-free “satellite city” for 80,000 people that will be built from scratch in a rural location close to Chengdu and later replicated in other parts of China.

Designed by Chicago firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture for private developer Beijing Vantone Real Estate Co., Ltd, the 1.3 square kilometre Great City will feature a high-rise core surrounded by a “buffer landscape” of open space comprising 60% of the total area. Residents will be able to walk from the city centre to its edge in just 10 minutes.

“The design is attempting to address some of the most pressing urban issues of our time,” said architect Gordon Gill. “We’ve designed this project as a dense vertical city that acknowledges and in fact embraces the surrounding landscape.”

The architects claims the city will use 48% less energy and 58% less water than conventional developments of this size, producing 89% less landfill waste and generating 60% less carbon dioxide. The city, which will be connected to Chengu and other population centres by a mass-transit system, is intended as a prototype for other parts of China.

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture are also working on the 1000 metre-high Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia, which will be the world’s tallest building when completed. Their 450 metre-high scaly-looking Dancing Dragons towers in Seoul, South Korea were unveiled earlier this year.

Image © Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.

Here’s some text from the architects:

ADRIAN SMITH + GORDON GILL ARCHITECTURE DESIGNS GREAT CITY, A SUSTAINABLE SATELLITE CITY TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION THIS YEAR IN CHENGDU, CHINA

CHICAGO, Oct. 24, 2012—Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is pleased to announce that it has completed a master plan for Chengdu Tianfu District Great City, a self-sustaining, environmentally sensitive 1.3-square-kilometer satellite city scheduled to begin construction this fall on an approximately 3-square-kilometer site outside Chengdu, China.

One of the first projects of its kind to be proposed or completed in China, Great City—developed by Beijing Vantone Real Estate Co., Ltd.—is envisioned as a prototype or model city to be replicated in other locations throughout the country. The development is intended to respond to the problem of overburdened infrastructure in many of China’s major urban centers without contributing to the high energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with suburban sprawl.

When completed in about eight years, Great City will be home to about 30,000 families totaling 80,000 people, many of whom will also have opportunities to work within the development. The distance from any location in the city to any other location will be walkable within about 15 minutes, all but eliminating the need for most automobiles. The city will also be connected to Chengdu and surrounding areas via mass transit to be accessed at a regional transit hub at the Great City center.

The project has been designed to achieve a remarkable series of sustainable benchmarks. Great City will use 48% less energy and 58% less water than a conventional development of similar population. It will also produce 89% less landfill waste and generate 60% less carbon dioxide.

“Great City resolves the relationship between high-density urban living and sustainable development,” says Adrian Smith, FAIA, who directed the design process along with AS+GG partner Gordon Gill, AIA. “This project will provide all basic services to its residents through a sustainable infrastructure that supports education, commerce, culture and an improved quality of life. It demonstrates how China can reduce its ecological footprint while creating economic conditions that are affordable for the majority of citizens and address contemporary social concerns.”

The project has been designed to conserve existing farmland, with more than 60% of the 800-acre site area preserved for agriculture and open space. The 320-acre urbanized area will be surrounded by a 480-acre buffer landscape, whose natural topography—including valleys and bodies of water—will be integrated into the city itself. Within the city, 15% of the land will be devoted to parks and landscaped space, while 60% will be parcelized for construction. The remaining 25% will be devoted to infrastructure, roads and pedestrian streets.

“The design is attempting to address some of the most pressing urban issues of our time, including the need for sustainable, dense urban living at a cost people can afford,” says Gill. “Accordingly, we’ve designed this project as a dense vertical city that acknowledges and in fact embraces the surrounding landscape—a city whose residents will live in harmony with nature rather than in opposition to it. Great City will demonstrate that high-density living doesn’t have to be polluted and alienated from nature. Everything within the built environment of Great City is considered to enhance the quality of life of its residents. Quite simply, it offers a great place to live, work and raise a family.”

“We are extremely pleased with Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture’s master plan for Great City because of the firm’s world-class perspective and very high-level design experience,” said Vantone Chairman Feng Lun. “As we move forward with this exciting project, we are happy to face challenges together with the AS+GG team.”

The development program within Great City will include commercial, residential, office, light manufacturing and a medical campus which will provide health services to residents as well as a larger regional and perhaps national constituency. The city’s medical campus is also intended to address the needs of the growing Chinese demographic of young married couples who live in combined households with extended families that may include two sets of grandparents.

“For the first time in China’s history, more people live in cities rather than rural areas, which means that the country is in real need of examples of dense, mixed-use sustainable urbanism,” says AS+GG partner Robert Forest, AIA. “Our design for Great City is a shining example of what the urban future could and should look like, both in China and elsewhere around the globe.”

The city’s perimeter is defined by a clear edge, from which the city center can be reached on foot within 10 minutes. An extended recreation system connects the pedestrian network to trails that run through the green buffer and surrounding farmland. The infrastructure and public-realm networks include electric shuttles, plazas, parks and links to the recreation system. As a primarily pedestrian city, only half of the road area is allocated to motorized vehicles. All residential units will be within a two-minute walk of a public park.

“The sustainability framework for Great City, custom-designed based on the principles of LEED-ND and BREEAM, follows an integrated approach toward meeting the overall objectives of environmental, economic and social sustainability,” notes Peter J. Kindel, AIA, ASLA, AS+GG’s Director of Urban Design. “Great City will incorporate innovative technologies and infrastructure systems to achieve 48% energy savings of a conventional urban development.”

In addition to improved efficiencies within buildings, the city will use seasonal energy storage to use waste summer heat to provide winter heating, and a power generation plant will employ the latest co-generation technology to provide both electricity and hot water. AS+GG has worked with the infrastructure consultant Mott MacDonald on plans for an Eco-Park located on the northwest edge of the city will integrate waste water treatment, solid waste treatment and power generation.

AS+GG’s master plan includes architectural design guidelines for massing and placement of buildings. Several international design firms, including AS+GG, will begin design work on the architecture later this year.

About Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is dedicated to the design of high-performance architecture in a wide range of typology and scale, from low- and mid-rise residential, commercial and cultural buildings to mixed-use supertall towers and new cities. The office uses a holistic, integrated design approach that explores symbiotic relationships with the natural environment. AS+GG is currently working on projects for clients in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Canada and the United States. The partnership was founded in 2006 by Adrian Smith, Gordon Gill and Robert Forest. For more information, please visit www.smithgill.com.

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World Architecture Festival 2012: in this movie we filmed at the World Architecture Festival, Chinese architect Li Xiaodong tells Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs how ”sustainability is a must” for new buildings in China, because if the country doesn’t get it right it’s ”the end of the world”.

The architect stresses that now China’s population is approaching 1.4 billion, that the country needs to ”really reconsider the way we construct and we think about our society.”

Xiaodong won the award in the culture category with his design for the Liyuan Library clad in firewood in a small village outside Beijing and he describes how technology was an important aspect of the project. Although the building looks “untechnologically expressive,” it features an integrated cooling system that draws cold air from the surface of a lake in summer and pulls it up through the building.

The frame of the library is made from chunky timber beams, while the cladding is wooden sticks. “I tried to go back to nature, said Xiaodong. “Around 99 percent of the materials can be recycled and this is part of the concept we need to promote.”

Read more about the Liyuan Library in our earlier story.

We’ve filmed a series of interviews with award winners at the World Architecture Festival. See all the movies we’ve published so far, including our interview with architect Chris Wilkinson about the World Building of the Year.

See all our stories about WAF 2012 »

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the world” – Li Xiaodong on Liyuan Library appeared first on Dezeen.