The project of Lushan Times was launched in 2012. It was slated to be a large city-level complex, standing at the gateway of Lushan New Town, which represents the southwest expansion of Fuyang District, Hangzhou. Before taking on this project, the design team had been involved in other projects situated in neighboring areas. Having been continuously working on projects within a certain area, the team began to shift focus from simply looking at individual buildings to considering on a city scale. With this in mind, Lushan Times becomes an epitome of GOA’s work in Fuyang.
Seeing and Being Seen
The site has a superior location, with Lushan Mountain at the back, and a commanding view of Fuchun River. It is a few steps away from Fuyang Bridge on one side, and on the other, adjacent to the cultural highland of the district, the Fuyang Cultural Complex by Wang Shu, also known as “Pavilion of Fuchun Mountains”. Positioned as the landmark of the new town in contrast to its surroundings, the project merges into the scroll of the picturesque landscape while implying the city’s commercial vitality.
The relationship between seeing and being seen constitutes the primary concern of the design concept. The architectural form coming into sight from the bridge or the other side of the river needs to be carefully conceived; so does the valuable panoramic view of the river and distant mountains when being overlooked from the building. In line with this, the initial sketch arranged the building along the periphery, forming an inner square to accommodate public activities, while creating a relatively complete volume on the outside. Extended from this idea, the final complex results in a double-ring structure, with a spiral sunken square embedded in the curved triangular outer contour. In between are terraced open spaces with inward-facing retails and small courtyards at different corners. The complete volume of the circular complex is fragmentized by multiple entryways in all directions, and towers are interconnected through either podium structures or the sky corridor.
The sea is a boundless vast expanse with no visual focus, however the river in the shape of a long ribbon can lead people’s view and frame unique sights from a variety of angles. In this light, the design team analyzed the sights from different positions and in different directions to diversify the building’s river view, and finally worked out a scheme that ensures both the building’s formal aesthetics and its viewing values.
A Stimulus for Urban Vitality
As the first urban complex of its kind in Lushan New Town, the project has set the clear goal to create an attractive urban public space from the very beginning, for high-quality public spaces can be important containers of people’s collective life and the generator of the city’s vitality. The team thus proposed the conception of “a city parlor”, in a way to strengthen the converging effect of the site, contributing to the renewal of public living spaces at the city level. With this strategy, Lushan Times, together with the adjacent cultural cluster, has naturally defined the new town’s heartland for public activities.
The potential of space vitality can be activated by functional synergy between upper and lower parts of the complex, as well as by value enhancement based on the diversified spatial functions. To be specific, the main entrance facing the river is made up of a huge void under a 60-meter-wide curved hanging structure, which allows buildings at the back to gain the river view. The hotel lobby situated in the large “sky corridor” of 43-meter-high also offers an unparalleled view of panorama for the visitors. In addition, the gateway structure aims at attracting people to step into the introverted square, where retail shops are arranged on terraced platforms around it, creating a dynamic view of the riverscape framed by the gateway.
As part of the cityscape, the project takes a series of design approaches to refine its appearance, no matter when seen up close or in distance. Horizontal lines composed by aluminum alloy profile with a rhythmed variation of thickness are emphasized to enliven the curved building façades. The light and shade effects take on the silhouette of mountains, just like the projection of mountains across the river. The northeast corner facing the cultural cluster applies the form of layered terraces, consistent with the rhythm of the horizontal lines, in an attempt to alleviate the sense of volume, also to echo the terraced inner square in the meantime. Furthermore, with a single center leading all segmented curves in the site layout, the design team managed to adopt bespoke standard units to assemble building parts of the curved facades, ensuring the accuracy in the process of construction.
The New Starting point
When GOA started the design of Lushan Times, the scheme of Fuyang Cultural Complex was not decided yet. During the whole design process, the team simulated the scene with two complexes in parallel from time to time and deliberated on the curved form of the buildings along the street, hoping to work out an optimal solution for the urban interface, especially in relation to the adjacent cultural complex. Successively completed, the two complexes, juxtaposed and in contrast on the riverside, annotate the new town in different ways.
Lushan Times has been put into use since the end of 2020. The holistic consideration on a city scale becomes valuable experience for the team, and finally results in the actualization of a high-quality urban complex for the residents of Fuyang. The initial conception of its functionality, including spontaneous public activities and advantaged riverscape sightseeing, has now turned into vibrant local life scenes. The future of this Lushan Times has only just begun.
