Raffles City Hangzhou, China Building, Project, News, Design, Property, Image

Raffles City Hangzhou, China : Architecture Information

Development by UNStudio / Ben van Berkel in China, Asia

15 May 2012 + 17 Jul 2009 Raffles City Hangzhou Development UNStudio / Ben van Berkel to build Raffles City Hangzhou in China Under construction - The mixed-use Raffles City development is located near the Qiangtan River in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, located 180 kilometres southwest of Shanghai. With a city population of 1.69 million, Hangzhou is one of the most renowned and prosperous cities in China and is well known for its beautiful natural scenery, particularly in the West Lake area. UNStudio's Raffles City in Hangzhou will be CapitaLand's sixth Raffles City, following those in Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Bahrain. UNStudio's Raffles City Hangzhou incorporates retail, offices, housing and hotel facilities and marks the site of a cultural landscape within the Quianjiang New Town Area. According to Ben van Berkel, "The philosophy behind the Raffles City concept is to integrate mixed use in an urban context, but in such a way as to give this concept a twist; by focussing on where the urban context meets the landscape of the city. In the design of the towers the urban element of the project twists towards the landscape, whilst the landscape aspect, in turn, twists towards the urban context, thereby effecting the incorporation and consolidation of these separate elements in one formal gesture." Raffles City Hangzhou is due for realisation in 2014. It will reach a height of 60 stories, presenting views both to and from the Qiantang River and West Lake areas and will provide a total floor area of almost 400,000 square metres.The project incorporates retail, offices, strata apartments and hotel facilities and marks the site of a cultural landscape within the Quianjiang New Town Area. Currently under construction, Raffles City Hangzhou will be CapitaLand's sixth Raffles City, following those in Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Bahrain. The plinth of the development is scheduled to reach its highest point in December this year. In the chain of events and attractions of Hangzhou, like the West Lake area and the commercial centre, the Raffles City project will be at the core of the Qianjiang New Town area and contribute to the recognition of this area as a new destination in the city. Ben van Berkel says of the project, "I believe it will have a sizable impact, as it is a project with a very strong identity and an individual character, which means it will become a place to which people would like to return. It is a project which communicates both with the architecture and within the context of Hangzhou as a city, for this reason we believe it will be a very unique building in China." Sustainable design principles An inclusive approach to sustainability is an important part of UNStudio's design philosophy. In the Raffles City project UNStudio seeks to receive the gold certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building rating system, the industry standard for rating of the eco-friendliness of buildings. The incorporation of natural ventilation principles and the ways in which materials are employed, all work in concordance with one another to lower the energy and material demands of the building. Urban sustainability is also an important consideration in the design. The programme mix creates a dynamic, continuous 24/7 cycle of activity, a hub for business conduct, a new destination for visitors and residents alike and will become an all-in-one destination for working, living, leisure and entertainment. Raffles City, Hangzhou, China - Building Information Date commenced: 2008 Client: CapitaLand Location: Hangzhou, China Building surface: 389,489 m2 Building site: 40,355m2 Programme: Mixed-use, incorporating commercial buildings: Class A office buildings, five-star hotels and high end residential buildings Status: Planned realisation 2014 Raffles City Hangzhou - Credits UNStudio: Concept Design and Schematic Design: Ben van Berkel, Caroline Bos, Astrid Piber with Hannes Pfau, Markus van Aalderen Team: Juliane Maier, Marc Salemink, Shu Yan Chan and Andreas Bogenschuetz, Marina Bozukova, Brendon Carlin, Miklos Deri, Gary Freedman, Juergen Heinzel, Alexander Hugo, Abhijit Kapade, Marcin Koltunski, Fernie Lai, James Leng, Peter Moerland, Rudi Nieveen, Hans-Peter Nuenning, Hyunil Oh, Yi Cheng Pan, Steffen Riegas, Rikjan Scholten, Ioana Sulea, Christian Veddeler, Luming Wang, Zhenfei Wang, Rein Werkhoven, Georg Willheim Advisors: Local Design Institute: China United Engineering Corporation, Hangzhou Structure, Mechanical Engineering, Fire Engineering, LEED: Arup London, Arup Shanghai, Arup LEED Hong Kong Facade: Meinhardt Façade Technology, Hong Kong Transport consultants: MVA Transport Consultants, Hong Kong Raffles City Hangzhou images / information from UNStudio UN Studio

Masterplan Designs

Chinese Architects

Raffles City projects in China

Raffles City Beijing

photo © Christian Richters
Raffles City Beijing

Raffles City Ningbo

image © Crystal CG
Raffles City Ningbo

Hangzhou Buildings - Selection

Hangzhou Building
Sheppard Robson Architects

image from architects
Hangzhou building

Boutique - Romanticism 2 Store
Keiichiro Sako, Takeshi Ishizaka/ SKSK architects

photograph : Koji Fujii / Nac·sa & Partners Inc.
Hangzhou Shop

CITIC Headquarters Tower
Foster + Partners

image © Foster + Partners
CITIC Headquarters Tower Hangzhou

Hangzhou Competition

Buildings by UNStudio - Selection

Millennium Park Pavilion

Music Theatre Graz

New Amsterdam Plein

Mercedes-Benz Museum

Chinese Buildings - Selection:

Bird's Nest - Chinese National Stadium Building
Arup, Herzog & De Meuron, China Architecture Design & Research Group

photo © Arup_Ben McMillan
Birds Nest Beijing

Beijing Olympics - The Water Cube
PTW with Arup

photo © Arup_Ben McMillan
Water Cube Beijing

Comments / photos for the Raffles City Hangzhou China Architecture page welcome: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Raffles City Hangzhou Building : page - adrian welch / isabelle lomholt

[Back to Top]

Tweet