Embracing an architecture of spatial energy and openness, the Shanghai Cofco Cultural & Health Center by Steven Holl Architects in collaboration with East China Architectural Design aims to foster community among the residents of the surrounding housing blocks by offering a public space and park along the canal as well as community and recreational programs within two new buildings.
Two new public buildings and the landscape are united through a concept of ‘clocks and clouds.’ The buildings represent clouds with the porosity and sense of openness while the landscape is organized around in clocklike circles that create a central public space.
The first building of the two buildings is The Cultural Center. The main light grey concrete volume is perched over a transparent glass ground floor that reveals game and recreation rooms as well as a café. Gently climbing to the second floor, a curved ramp creates a sense of journey and an experience of looking outwards.
The second building, The Health Centre, is shaped by the curve of the central landscape space. Featuring an exoskeletal concrete construction, subtractive cuts in the concrete define the architectural language.
Sustainability measures feature throughout buildings and include green sedum roofs alongside the use of 30% recycled materials, C02 monitoring, a centralized heating and cooling system, thermal storage and grey / rainwater retention and recycling.
