Guangzhou Girdear Headquarter and Logements Project

Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Professional Design Project, 01/2020-03/2020

Roles: Concept design. Modeling, rendering and documentation w/revit, rhino, Adobe CC

The two sites are located north of Guangzhou, 28km from the city centre, in an area going through rapid urban development. They are close to the new Guangzhou Airport which was opened in 2004 in the montangeous region of Baiyun. The client asked the architect two projects, one is the Girdear Group Headquarters, while the other one is a luxury real estate logements program.

In the future high-density residential environment of the neighborhood, the presence of girdear headquarters will add vitality to the neighborhood. It promotes urban integration. At the same time, the diversity of functions enriches the lives of nearby residents and creates a balance between residential areas and nearby shopping malls. The logements is located in a densely vegetated environment at the foot of a 30m tall merlon which borders a vast body of water. In this district filled with mutation, the warehouses are replaced by the housing project.

Architectural Diagrams

Morphology

The project is composed of four superimposed elements. The first element has the appearance of a monolithic and mineral socle, the height of which corresponds to the stratum of trees growing along the length of the building. This socle is composed of two levels, the first of which is gently sunken into the ground. The two main entrances are found on the glazed façade at the north and south ends of the building. The longitudinal facades are punched with glazed openings of different sizes which respond to the interior functions.

Above the socle, pilotis emerge from the vegetated roof to hold up a parallelepiped housing two floors of offices. A few volumes are suspended from the parallelepiped to accommodate the meeting rooms and the library. Vertical circulation, stairs, elevators, shafts… are found amid these volumes.