Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) has officially broken ground on West Lake 66 in Hangzhou, China. The project will form a new elevated green pedestrian link between West Lake and the Grand Canal, two of Hangzhou’s essential landmarks.
The 194,000-sm project includes five office towers with space suited to technology startups and young professionals, a boutique hotel, public parks, and an active, mixed-use podium. KPF parametrically linked shadow impacts, visibility from streets, unobstructed views, maximized daylight, and other key factors in an algorithm that organized optimal massing along the greenway to determine the position of the buildings and the overall site organization.
Plomp for KPF.
See Also: A series of glass ‘igloos’ create the world’s northernmost hotel
The buildings’ facades optimize daylight while the overall project was designed with a modular, fluid porosity that reflects the material heritage of the city and its craftspeople using local materials like terracotta, stone, and wood.
Plomp for KPF.
The podium is designed in sinuous bands of rectangular cells, each one responding to the program within, that tie the site together. The cells can be updated over the lifespan of the building. The podium also stacks a mix of uses to form a layered program that ensures future flexibility. Office space opens to a green roof that spans the length of the podium to create a public sky park.
Plomp for KPF.
Plomp for KPF.
Plomp for KPF.
Jim Keen for KPF.
Related Stories
Affordable Housing | Nov 16, 2023
Habitat receives approval for $400 million affordable housing redevelopment
Chicago-based Habitat, a leading U.S. multifamily developer and property manager, announced that its $400 million redevelopment of Marine Drive Apartments in Buffalo, N.Y., has received planned unit development (PUD) approval by the Buffalo Common Council.
Laboratories | Nov 8, 2023
Boston’s FORUM building to support cutting-edge life sciences research and development
Global real estate companies Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge recently announced the topping-out of FORUM, a nine-story, 350,000-sf life science building in Boston. Located in Boston Landing, a 15-acre mixed-use community, the $545 million project will achieve operational net zero carbon upon completion in 2024.
Retail Centers | Nov 7, 2023
Omnichannel experiences, mixed-use development among top retail design trends for 2023-2024
Retailer survival continues to hinge on retail design trends like blending online and in-person shopping and mixing retail with other building types, such as offices and residential.
Condominiums | Nov 6, 2023
Douglas Elliman launches its first Metro D.C. condominium project
Douglas Elliman, one of the largest independent residential real estate brokerages in the United States, announced last week that the firm will be handling the sales and marketing for Ten501 at City Centre West.
Mass Timber | Oct 27, 2023
Five winners selected for $2 million Mass Timber Competition
Five winners were selected to share a $2 million prize in the 2023 Mass Timber Competition: Building to Net-Zero Carbon. The competition was co-sponsored by the Softwood Lumber Board and USDA Forest Service (USDA) with the intent “to demonstrate mass timber’s applications in architectural design and highlight its significant role in reducing the carbon footprint of the built environment.”
Affordable Housing | Oct 20, 2023
Cracking the code of affordable housing
Perkins Eastman's affordable housing projects show how designers can help to advance the conversation of affordable housing.
Luxury Residential | Oct 18, 2023
One Chicago wins 2023 International Architecture Award
One Chicago, a two-tower luxury residential and mixed-use complex completed last year, has won the 2023 International Architecture Award. The project was led by JDL Development and designed in partnership between architecture firms Goettsch Partners and Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture.
Mixed-Use | Oct 17, 2023
Long-gestating entertainment district may get started in Orlando later this year
The DeVos family, who own the Orlando Magic pro basketball team, has chosen two development partners.
Office Buildings | Oct 16, 2023
The impact of office-to-residential conversion on downtown areas
Gensler's Duanne Render looks at the incentives that could bring more office-to-residential conversions to life.
Mixed-Use | Oct 9, 2023
A coastal California city reawakens its downtown
The Prado West mixed-use redevelopment gives Dana Point a new look.
