EID has been selected as the winner of a design competition for a major mixed-use development in the city of Chongqing, China. Led by design principal Ping Jiang, AIA, the design for Longfor Phase IV is intended as an exploration of vertical urbanism for a high density mixed-use project.
Located in a vibrant central area in Chongqing and alongside 1st Avenue with an adjacent park at street level, the project comprises a single tower and associated podium integrated as an assembled massing of stacked box-like volumes rising to a total height of 150 meters, offering high grade office space at high level and boutique retail areas at lower levels.
A central feature to the design is the incorporation of an open space that rises through the centre of the lower portion of the project to create an “urban void”. This three dimensional interlocking void space acts as the gravitational core of the project by which the interior architecture organizes itself, stimulating movement and activity through the vertical space that energizes and defines the associated programmatical components and offers a visual and spatial connection to the multi-level exterior terrain at ground level.
The design draws inspiration from the nearby countryside with its impressive natural karst formations along with the mountainous cityscape of Chongqing with its cascade of vernacular dwellings and stepped urban streets that respond and accommodate the steep inclines within the city fabric, offering porosity and permeability between the dwellings and the sloping streetscape.
Each is coherently portrayed within the design, defining and articulating the overall composition and character of the building and creating an interactive dialogue between urban space and building interior.
The outcome is a design that is both contextual and iconic, contextually integrated whilst unique in appearance that allows for a visual and spatial porosity and connectivity across all levels with a naturally balanced composition of stacked box-like volumes interlocked with a tower component, creating a design of understated monumentality and a harmonious contextually responsive composition.
A stepped grand stair connects the project across the site East to West, articulating and responding to a level difference of nine meters, creating the opportunity for ground level entrances at multiple levels. Garden terraces integrated within the stacked box formation and a lush vertical green vegetation wall within the lobby space connects with the natural environment of the park to further enhance an overall design integrity and complexity. The design was recently awarded an AIA HK merit award, and the project is currently heading into schematic design stage and scheduled for completion in 2019. Source by EID Architecture.
- Location: Chongqing, China
- Architects: EID Architecture
- Project Team: Ping Jiang, AIA, Design Principal, Michael Morgan, Shengyun Lu, Hui Wang, Weite Shi, Anais Alice Jil Meon, Andres Delpon Carrillo, Veronica Recuero Valor, Ted Tan
- Client: Longfor Group
- Gross Area: 69,000 sq m
- Completion: 2019
- Images: Courtesy of EID Architecture
