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Liuzhou building, Architect, Project, Housing, Image, Design, Architecture
Liuzhou Housing, China
Chinese Residential Development by MVRDV
LONGTAN PARK
7 Apr 2008
STATUES IN THE PARK
Next to Liuzhou, a city in the south of China that is located on the
edge of the exceptionally beautiful Karst mountain range and is protected
as a World Heritage site, a limestone mine is situated. In this mine
five of these beautiful mountains are dramatically cut into half.

This situation so close to the city attracts developers anxious to
create housing areas in and next to the city. The city seeks housing
developments for its growing middle class citizens.
Can the creation of a new housing area in the mine be used for further
restoration of the park? Can we turn this into an operation that restores
the beauty of and creates a continuation with the surrounding landscape?
And that stop the erosions of the already cut mountains?
Putting the 2,700 houses in the valley would harm the potential continuation
of the park and would avoid the protection of the eroded mountains,
while also creating houses without views and ventilation.
By cladding the escarpments with the houses the potential
continuation of the park can be arranged. It can protect the eroded
mountains from further erosion and would create houses with a view
and ventilation. The buildings appear like statues in the park, like
the four presidents on Mt. Rushmore.
The slopes have been carefully researched and mapped. It distinguishes
different zones: non-steep zones with hard rocks that can be used
with columns only; steep zones with hard rocks that can easily be
used for construction and stability through dowels; zones with cracks
that need to be avoided and lead to outside areas in the new city;
and zones at the bottom that need to be cleaned from loose rocks from
potential hollow spaces with communal access grottos.
The houses are conceived as individual boxes with a view
that respect the desire for individuality and that avoid a hotel
feeling.
Their positions follow the natural topography of the slopes. The irregularity
leads to houses with differentiated terraces.
A three-meter distance between the houses and the rocks is maintained
to allow for natural ventilation.
The floors and walls of the houses are made of concrete, mixed with
the local rocks in order to blend the houses with the
mountains. They are positioned on columns and stabilized by dowels
where needed. The differentiation of the needed dowels and props leads
to an intriguing spatial differentiation of the vertical village:
it echoes clearly the structure of the mountains. Stairs follow the
empty spaces in between the boxes. It leads to a web of streets
through these vertical villages.
Liuzhou residential project images + information from MVRDV 070408
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Liuzhou Buildings architect : MVRDV
Chinese Buildings
Beijing Watercube : PTW /
Arup
Nanjing Project : Steven Holl Architects
Longgang Development : G r o
u n d lab
Tianjin Building : de Architekten Cie.
Chinese Architect Studios

World Architecture : e-architect
- key buildings across the globe
Comments / photos
for the Liuzhou Building page welcome: info@e-architect.co.uk
Liuzhou Architecture China - page: adrian welch
/ isabelle lomholt |
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