JINWAN WEST LAKE AREA NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER

Located on the west side of Jinwan District at the convergence of important urban and green axis, this new Neighborhood Center is designed to become the melting pot of the community living and working in the surroundings.

In order to encourage a healthy community to grow and thrive, we propose a well-rounded approach which combines practical design solutions for educational, cultural and social facilities. The essential ‘infrastructure’ for the neighborhood growth and development will at the same time serve the community’s needs and generate the virtuous guidelines for the future district development. We express the idea of bringing the community together not only in one unified architectural gesture but also in terms of creating interconnected alternative spaces for social interactions and for a creative learning experience.

Based on the very nature of a neighborhood in southern China, the Jinwan West Lake Neighborhood Center incorporates the complexity of functions and diversity of needs of its multiple users’ groups. This plurality of functions is reflected in the architectural design which is inspired by the local traditional qi lou typology of Guangdong Province and combined with a dynamic sequence of stacking and shifting volumes, each one embodying a different function and easily recognizable by a characteristic contemporary facade design.

The Neighborhood Center is open to the public and integrated with the surrounding green areas. Multiple levels, terraces, balconies and roof gardens provide a protected and shaded space for social activities. Private and public space interact harmoniously, giving at the same time both intimacy and communal space.

The first floor has a strong commercial character: retail shops and F&B are open towards the main commercial plazas to the west, while the local market is more hidden at the back of the complex. Administration and public service offices are located at the edge of the plot, easily accessible from the service road along the south and east sides. In a dominant position at the heart of the complex is the Art & Entertainment Center. Linked to the adjacent buildings with elevated walkways and terraces, from here workers and visitors can easily reach other functions.

Another peculiar characteristic of the Jinwan West Lake Neighborhood Center is the outdoor sport area, divided between three main terraces at different levels and joined by an elevated running track loop that runs both indoor and outdoor.

Openness, permeability and a strong connection with the natural environment are the main characteristics of well-designed subtropical cities. With its series of shad­ed outdoor terraces and elevated walkways, the complex adapts to the Zhuhai’s subtropical climates, opening up to natural light and air, capturing ambient daylight and cooling breezes, reducing the energy needs, while providing lush land­scaping, shade and comfort.

Through an innovative and vibrant architectural design, we managed to express a strong identity that sets the new West Lake Neighborhood Center as a role model for the future development of Jinwan district.