“Old Town” Office Building. Image © Kaixiong Xiao
- Architects: BDCL Design International Ltd
- Location: The Intersection of Provincial Road 102 and Nuanquan Road, Xinzheng, Henan, China
- Architect In Charge: Scott Romes, Kim Pelly, Tim Kalander, Kevin Sokolowski, Wei Zhang, Qinpeng Bai, Shuqing Li, Nan Jiang, Tingting Wei, Jiangying Hu, Na Sun, Yang Gao, Hong Zhang, Bolun Wu
- Fair Faced Concrete Consultant: Beijing Haiyujianxiang Engineering Technology Co., Ltd.
- Client: Zhengzhou Hangmei Sci-tech Park Development Co., Ltd.
- Area: 21200.0 m2
- Project Year: 2017
- Photographs: Kaixiong Xiao
© Kaixiong Xiao
Text description provided by the architects. The master plan of Hangmei International Smart Town is to build a “Town with Heart” with the power to attract and retain talents, based on which, the place can evolve into a modern science and technology town of enduring development.The planned “Hearts of the Town” in the project shows infinite vitality. Blocks, 80 meters square, are dotted in both “Old Town” and “New Town”.
Art Center. Image © Kaixiong Xiao
Lying at its Northeast corner is the demo zone which has been launched into the market prior to the rest of the town. The demo zone consists of two parts—the Block Zone composed of New Town office building, Old Town office buildings and Art Center, and “College”, a section encompassing a Sales Center and an Information Display Center.
Site Plan
Block Zone
“New Town” office building is tailored to the needs of the 1st batch of enterprises moving into the town. In the middle part of south facade, balconies, one at each floor, are arranged in the shape of a ladder, which looks like “the Lane in the Air”, and they offer communication spaces for workers. Vertical grilles used can give people a sense of rhythm, and this kind of spatial and artistic conception is the marked characteristic of oriental architecture.
“New Town” Office Building. Image © Kaixiong Xiao
“Old Town” office buildings, made mainly of facing bricks with textures similar to those of shale bricks, look plain but convey solemnity, and this kind of feels is what traditional Chinese culture highlights. With sloping roofs processed in an abstract way, these buildings combine modern architectural styles with traditional Chinese culture.
“Old Town” Office Building. Image © Kaixiong Xiao
In order to make the Block Zone’s space more diversified, the Art Center is elevated above the ground which is accessible via stairs. By doing so, a semi-open space supported by columns is formed, and with the ground floor below the earth’s surface, this space is used as a semi-exterior playground. It diversifies the space structures, enriching people’s feels. People can do some outdoor activities here. This makes the Block Zone full of vitality.
Art Center. Image © Kaixiong Xiao
Art Center . Image © Kaixiong Xiao
Art Center. Image © Kaixiong Xiao
“College”
“College” consists of a Sales Center and an Information Display Center where a picture of how people in Smart Town work and live can be got. In traditional Chinese culture, “College” is the place for writing books, putting forward ideas and theories and teaching. From the perspective of the modern culture, the place represents a smart town where thoughts and creative ideas are pooled to advance the development of science and technology.
Information Display Center. Image © Kaixiong Xiao