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ArchDaily Projects Mixed Use Architecture China UNStudio 2017 Raffles City Hangzhou / UNStudio

Raffles City Hangzhou / UNStudio

00:00 - 19 September, 2017

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Architects
UNStudio

Location
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Architect in Charge
Ben van Berkel, Hannes Pfau, Astrid Piber

Client
CapitaLand China

Area
392526.0 m2

Project Year
2017

Photographs
Jin Xing, Hufton + Crow, Seth Powers

More Specs

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From the architect. Designed by Ben van Berkel / UNStudio, CapitaLand’s new Raffles
City is a sustainable urban hub for living, working and leisure located in Hangzhou, one
of China’s most picturesque cities. It forms the eighth Raffles City development in
China.

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Situated in Qianjiang New Town near Qiantang River, this mixed-use development
becomes a major landmark along the green axis of the city’s new CBD. A rich mix of
24/7 functions occupies almost 400,000m2 within two streamlined towers set atop
a podium and landscaped plaza.

Conceived as a lively vertical neighbourhood and transit hub and featuring stunning
views of the river and West Lake areas, the sixty-storey, 250 metre-tall highrises
contain residential units, Grade A offices, the Conrad Hotel and a rooftop helipad; the
116,000m2  six-storey podium accommodates retail, restaurants, leisure facilities and
parking and has a direct underground connection to the metro.

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Ben van Berkel:“Raffles City Hangzhou will be a point of confluence, a hub for business
conduct and a new destination for visitors and residents alike; an ‘all-in-one’
destination for working, living and leisure in a highly sustainable environment.”

Capital of Zhejiang province, the city is steeped in tradition with a view to the future.
Located 50 minutes by high-speed train from Shanghai, Hangzhou has become an
economic powerhouse within China today thanks to a strong tech sector.

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While the city’s heritage focuses on the picturesque UNESCO heritage-listed West Lake,
its future points to a new economic, political and cultural centre orientated towards
the river. With strong future ambitions especially concerning sustainability, economy
and livability, Hangzhou is a city on the move.

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Mixed-use. Healthy future cities

In light of the impacts of urbanisation worldwide, UNStudio posed the question: How
can we utilise a dense, mixed programme as part of a transit-oriented development to
stimulate sustainable living and improve quality of life?

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The project furthers the practice’s ongoing research into Superliving, in this case into
(integral) strategies to create sustainable, healthy cities that offer a high quality of life,
while addressing future needs for greater efficiency and density in cities in times of
rapid urbanisation and growth.

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The building is designed with a carefully considered mix of programmes - like those
found in a good city - that bring together a wide range of users. Besides working and
living at Raffles City, people can stay at the hotel, or pick up groceries, enjoy a meal, do
exercise, watch a movie or even get married there, all in one interconnected
environment.

As such it not only provides residents and those working or staying in the complex with
a healthy and socially integrated environment, it also ensures that programmes are
active around the clock, creating a safe and lively neighbourhood for all.

Raffles City Hangzhou

from UNStudio ›
Landscape

Informed by the city’s famed natural landscape, UNStudio’s design creates a local
identity for Raffles City, while celebrating its trademark ‘city within a city’ concept.
Reflecting the movement in the river, the tower design features a wave-like motion.
These concentric waves increase in their dynamism, starting calmly at the base and
building up more vigorously along the vertical axis. These formal expressions enabled
us to connect the wide variety of programmes throughout the building into one
seamless flow.

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The design contributes to the landscape character of this green city. Situated
diagonally opposite the civic centre, the corner site borders both the urban built-up
context and green axis/city park that connects West Lake to the Qiantang River.

The architecture of the two towers consolidates these two contexts in one gesture
whereby the urban face of the building twists towards the landscape, while the
landscape aspect, in turn, acknowledges the urban context. The towers are not
identical but, rather, complementary, as if engaging in dialogue.

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The plan is organised as two diagonal and intersecting figure-of-eights. Positioned on
opposite corners, each tower consists of an ‘urban facade’ that frames the urban
corner of the site, and a horizontally articulated ‘landscape facade’ that descends into
the inner courtyards at podium level.

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The main entrance to the south appears as a prominent gateway from the city park
and civic centre. The east-west orientation of the towers minimises overshadowing
while maximising daylight for the residences and offices.

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Articulation

The design of the tower and podium facades interplay contrasting textures. Clad in a
shimmering scale-like skin of aluminium tiles, the podium facades reflect the
building’s activity and landscape to offer pixelated perspectives. The towers feature an
outer layer of rotated, vertical solar shading fins, placed atop the curtain wall system.
Accentuating the tower’s characteristic twist, they also frame internal views.

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Interior

Situated at the centre of the retail spine, a spectacular atrium forms the organisational
and visual focus of the podium interior. The atrium is designed as a spiral of
overlapping layers, creating seamless connectivity and extensive sightlines between
the spaces.

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As a feature detail the bamboo handrail echoes the building’s curvilinear form.
Winding its way around the podium as a continuous ribbon, it adds an element of
tactility and natural contrast with the futuristic interior.

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From here two diagonal voids ascend seven storeys through the opposite wings of the
retail spine. As an intuitive finding device, the voids guide visitors along each wing that
spans almost 150 metres in each direction. Abundant daylight streams through the
atrium and voids right down to the lowest floors, introducing a unique outdoor quality
to the podium interior.

Looking up through the skylights, the towers are always visible from the main atrium,
changing appearance depending on the viewing point.

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As the scale of the fluid forms transition from the architecture to the streamlined
interior and winding handrails, this results in a cohesive spatial experience – as if
outside merges with inside.

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Sustainability

Raffles City Hangzhou has achieved Gold LEED certification. An inclusive approach to
sustainability is integral to UNStudio’s design philosophy. The incorporation of natural
ventilation, solar gain and daylighting principles tailored to the local context, efficient
structure and the ways in which materials are employed all work in concordance with
one another to lower the energy and material demands of the building. Raffles City
Hangzhou is the first retail mall in China to use natural ventilation on a large scale.

With social sustainability in mind, the programme mix creates a dynamic, continuous
24/7 cycle of activity that encourages public participation and engagement.

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© Jin Xing © Hufton + Crow © Hufton + Crow © Hufton + Crow © Hufton + Crow

© Hufton + Crow © Hufton + Crow © Hufton + Crow © Seth Powers © Jin Xing

© Seth Powers © Hufton + Crow © Hufton + Crow © Seth Powers © Seth Powers

© Hufton + Crow © Seth Powers © Seth Powers © Seth Powers

© Seth Powers © Seth Powers © Hufton + Crow © Hufton + Crow © Hufton + Crow

© Hufton + Crow Program Green Facade Facade Shading Modul… Central Voiud

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Concept Design Diagra…

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Cite: "Raffles City Hangzhou / UNStudio" 19 Sep 2017. ArchDaily. Accessed 4 Oct 2017.
<http://www.archdaily.com/879869/raffles-city-hangzhou-unstudio/>

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