Alibaba, the world’s largest online retailer and e-commerce company, is set to receive a new signature office building in Shanghai courtesy of Foster + Partners. The building will showcase the company’s unique working culture to the public.
Situated at Xuhui Riverside, the building is formed around a central heart that opens up to create a large public urban room. The building is designed to be extremely transparent and includes an active social core with viewing terraces overlooking the central space.
The project’s unique building form has been guided by a design process that uses a genetic algorithm to evolve the optimal massing. The algorithm combines several aspects that are crucial to the project such as being highly responsive to the environmental conditions, maximizing outside views, and the specific area requirements for different functions. The massing is optimized to provide the best year-round user comfort in the central public space by protecting it from stronger winds in the winter and the harsh summer sun while creating tailored workspace solutions for the different departments at Alibaba.
Desk arrangements, break-out spaces, and meeting rooms are designed to encourage collaboration and teamwork with visual and physical connectivity encouraging interactions.
See Also: The Grand Canal Museum will tell the story of the world’s longest canal
“Our design emphasises the importance of communication, the integrity of the working community and above all, the creation of an image that reflects the standing of Alibaba,” said Luke Fox, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners, in a release. “The scheme is truly designed from the inside out, centred on a dynamic, sheltered public space capitalizing on its amazing location with its views of the Huangpu River and the Bund.”
The design will utilize off-site production for quality control, reducing wastage, and minimizing on-site operations to create an efficient construction program.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Jan 23, 2024
Top 110 Medical Office Building Architecture Firms for 2023
SmithGroup, CannonDesign, E4H Environments for Health Architecture, and Perkins Eastman top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest medical office building architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Office Buildings | Jan 19, 2024
How to strengthen office design as employees return to work
Adam James, AIA, Senior Architect, Design Collaborative, shares office design tips for the increasingly dynamic workplace.
Adaptive Reuse | Jan 18, 2024
Coca-Cola packaging warehouse transformed into mixed-use complex
The 250,000-sf structure is located along a now defunct railroad line that forms the footprint for the city’s multi-phase Beltline pedestrian/bike path that will eventually loop around the city.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Jan 17, 2024
Waterproofing deep foundations for new construction
This continuing education course, by Walter P Moore's Amos Chan, P.E., BECxP, CxA+BE, covers design considerations for below-grade waterproofing for new construction, the types of below-grade systems available, and specific concerns associated with waterproofing deep foundations.
Biophilic Design | Jan 16, 2024
New supertall Manhattan tower features wraparound green terraces
At 66 stories and 1,031.5 ft high, The Spiral is BIG’s first supertall building and first commercial high-rise in New York.
Sustainability | Jan 10, 2024
New passive house partnership allows lower cost financing for developers
The new partnership between PACE Equity and Phius allows commercial passive house projects to be automatically eligible for CIRRUS Low Carbon financing.
MFPRO+ Special Reports | Jan 4, 2024
Top 10 trends in multifamily rental housing
Demographic and economic shifts, along with work and lifestyle changes, have made apartment living preferable for a wider range of buyers and renters. These top 10 trends in multifamily housing come from BD+C's 2023 Multifamily Annual Report.
Green | Dec 18, 2023
Class B commercial properties gain more from LEED certification than Class A buildings
Class B office properties that are LEED certified command a greater relative benefit than LEED-certified Class A buildings, according to analysis from CBRE. The Class B LEED rent advantage over non-LEED is about three times larger than the premium earned by Class A LEED buildings.
Office Buildings | Dec 12, 2023
Transforming workplaces for employee mental health
Lauren Elliott, Director of Interior Design, Design Collaborative, shares practical tips and strategies for workplace renovation that prioritizes employee mental health.
Office Buildings | Dec 11, 2023
Believe it or not, there could be a shortage of office space in the years ahead
With work-from-home firmly established, many real estate analysts predict a dramatic reduction in office space leasing and plummeting property values. But the high-end of the office segment might actually be headed for a shortage, according to real estate intelligence company CoStar Group.
