The G60 Expressway Jiaxing Service Area is located at the mid-point of the arterial highway between Shanghai and Hangzhou, the two most important metropolises of the Yangtze Delta Urban Agglomeration. On account of overwhelmed traffic volume as well as limited parking spaces and service area, the old service center needs to be rebuilt. In order to minimize the impact on the traffic flow, the reconstruction maintains the layout of separate zones on the two sides of the highway G60.
The entire new service complex has a GFA of 21800 sqm and is built on stilts, giving way to sufficient parking space. The sheltered ground floor parking offers comfortable space for people in transit, particularly practical in this rainy region. The space is also designated for fairs on special occasions where travelers can find regional specialties. As a result, most functional spaces are elevated to upper floors. The atriums rise up through the three floors, arranging most commercial functions and service facilities around.
The façade design extracts local water town features – water and rice fields – and translates them in different ways on the two sides of the highway, the first of its kind in China. The north building applies cambered polycarbonate boards and steel plates to construct the undulated curtain walls. The concrete ceiling of the stilt floor is also presented in a wavy form. The south building facades uses prefabricated three-dimensional steel components and undulated steel plates to make reference to ripples and water reflections. The same regional symbols are also interpreted in interior and landscape design.
The skylight system employs solar PV glass to increase renewable energy proportion. Furthermore, intelligent technologies are applied in the traffic guidance and access control system, in an attempt to anticipate traffic volume and passenger flow and thus to improve the service efficiency and quality.
