EID Architecture wins competition for Lingang ZKJI Center

EID Architecture has been selected as the winner of an international competition to design a significant headquarter/office and hotel complex of Lingang ZKJI Center (LGZC) in Lingang New City, a burgeoning new district in the outskirt of Shanghai. Consisted of an office wing and ancillary facilities, this project also houses a hotel wing and its amenities.

In coherent with the current master planning developed by German firm GMP, the design of Lingang ZKJI Center (LGZC) is conceived as a series of vertically stacked courtyards. It is configured to optimize building orientation, whilst maximizing the views towards the Dishui Lake and adjacent park. It aims to become an open, welcoming destination for different user groups, visitors and hotel guests alike.

The gross area for this complex is approximately 41,458 sq meters. LGZC contains a variety of office spaces which are catered to needs of different user groups, ranging from corporate headquarter at upper levels, speculative leasing space to co-sharing working environment at lower levels. It offers a new typology of office building configuration as a flexible framework responding to the change of market place.

A key feature of this project is an outdoor navigation passage that wraps around the podium and office building, engaging the pedestrians, visitors and tenants. Navigating through this footpath carved out of office massing, it connects with the roof terraces and indoor atriums at various levels, stimulating the interaction and encounter among different user groups and visitors. These steps along the footpath provides a continuous open viewing platform, exploiting the best views of the surrounding and the dramatic panorama of the lake, park and city beyond.

The organization of office floor plates centers around an atrium that also acts as a vertical light shaft, telescoping the light through the office floors and further down to the basement. It contributes to natural ventilation through the function of chimney effect. The shifting and stratification of the office mass reduce its overall bulk and impact on the surrounding blocks, creating an identifiable presence in the district. The façade is featured with perforated vertical metal pilasters, creating a constant shimmering effect on the surface which imitates the rippling effect of the lake.

In contrast with the weighty office building, the hotel wing appears to be a light filled glass volume with articulations of gridded shading elements. This interplay of solidity and lightness forms a tension that derived from otherwise restrained, quiet nature of the overall composition of the complex. The upper floors of the hotel contain two roof terraces on both ends, allowing views to the lake and park alike.

The podium façade is accentuated with dark granite panels, forming a plinth for multidimensional roof gardens and terraces. The LinGang ZKJI Center designed by Ping Jiang, the Design Principal of EID Architecture, won the Plan Award 2018, Honorable Mention Award of the Future Office & Business Architecture Design category. Source by EID Architecture.