Pazhou District Masterplan, Guangzhou Building, China, Architect, Image, Design News
Pazhou District Masterplan in Guangzhou
New Buildings in China design by Goettsch Partners Architects: New Architecture
16 Jun 2011
Pazhou District Masterplan Guangzhou
Goettsch Partners Wins Design Competition for New District Site in China
Master plan provides a cohesive vision for seven-building development
CHICAGO – (June 16, 2011) – A master plan by Goettsch Partners (GP) has been selected as the winning scheme in the design competition for a prominent site in the new Pazhou district in Guangzhou, China. Three urban parcels form the triangular site, which is planned for seven buildings totaling 428,000 square meters. The client and developer is Poly Real Estate (Group) Co., Ltd., China’s leading state-owned real estate company.
Set along the Pearl River Delta, the Pazhou district anchors the city’s expansion to the east. The winning master plan establishes a framework for the three-parcel site as a vibrant and iconic commercial destination that merges the new riverfront with the larger urban fabric.
A nautilus-like spiral defines the organizing concept for the complex, with its physical center providing a direct visual link to the city’s historic pagoda. The centerpiece of the development is a large public piazza, which helps unify the three urban parcels while clearly segregating pedestrian and vehicular activity.
Sustainable design initiatives start with a series of elevated bridges that provide unobstructed breezeways and shade for the ground level. These bridges also house indoor social spaces linking the towers and are topped with habitable garden spaces that minimize the urban heat-island effect.
A landmark tower at the northeast corner of the site anchors the development in the skyline, positioned for maximum visibility and presence. The six other buildings encircle the piazza and are designed with podium-level retail and dining venues that activate the public spaces. Sky bridges between buildings define the perimeter of the piazza and link the complex, while maximizing views to the riverfront and adjacent canal. These elevated structures also form gateways that lend an overall permeability to the complex.
In the piazza, a terraced court rises from the site’s lower-level pedestrian access, passing beneath the development’s main connecting roadway. Lined with retail and restaurants, this court features a series of distinct landscaped amenities and terminates at a jewel-like exhibition facility, intended to be an educational and cultural venue. This entire network of pedestrian pathways also has a direct link to the area’s subway lines, providing convenient and intuitive access to the development.
Identified by a larger plan as parcels 4, 5 and 10, the three urban plots each includes a mix of commercial functions. Parcel 4 totals 210,000 square meters, featuring the landmark office and hotel tower, as well as a separate serviced apartment tower; the two are organized in a semicircular arrangement fronting the main piazza. Parcel 5 comprises 100,000 square meters, with three office towers triangulated on the development’s southernmost portion and configured around a secondary public plaza.
Parcel 10 totals 118,000 square meters, including an office tower and a hotel, aligned along the adjacent canal. While each building will have its own unique identity, collectively, the buildings will form an ascending spiral, defining a singular urban gesture for the complex.
The Pazhou project represents GP’s fourth major assignment with Poly Real Estate. Other projects include a 159,000-square-meter mixed-use development in Deyang, including hotel, office, conference, and cultural functions; a 200-meter-tall office building in Shunde; and a two-tower, 150,000-square-meter office complex in Chengdu. As one of the largest real estate developers in China, Poly Real Estate operates 119 subsidiaries across 35 cities nationwide.
Goettsch Partners is a Chicago-based architecture firm providing innovative architectural, interior, planning and building enclosure design services. With additional offices in Shanghai and Abu Dhabi, the firm’s work spans four continents. Recently completed projects include premier office towers in Beijing, Chicago and Shanghai, and luxury business hotels in China, India and the United States.
Select current projects include the new Chicago office of international law firm Baker & McKenzie; the North American headquarters of pharmaceutical company Astellas in Glenview, Illinois; Northwestern University’s new signature music building in Evanston, Illinois; China’s Grand Hyatt Chengdu at Chicony Plaza, which integrates a 450-key hotel and one of the country’s largest department stores; a 900-room Hilton hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and a 3 million-square-foot office development in Abu Dhabi that features the headquarters building of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
Pazhou District Masterplan Guangzhou images / information from Goettsch Partners
Pazhou District Masterplan Guangzhou architect : Goettsch Partners
Location: Pazhou District, Guangzhou, China
Architecture in Guangzhou
Guangzhou Architecture
Guangzhou Architecture Designs – chronological list
Poly 335 Financial Center
image courtesy of architects
Poly 335 Financial Center Guangzhou by Goettsch Partners
Chinese Buildings – Selection:
Guangfa Securities Headquarters, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, southern China
Design: Jaeger Kahlen Partners Architects Ltd.
photograph : Wenrui Ye
Guangfa Securities Headquarters in Tianhe District
Comments / photos for the Pazhou District Masterplan Guangzhou page welcome
Website: Guangzhou
