Our aim is to combine and express all the regional natural features within the Centre, so that the local people will be able to identify themselves with the City of Hangzhou.
Peter Ruge Architekten
After perennial design and construction phase the congress center of the new city administration of Hangzhou, China is completed. The concept and design of the facade was made by Peter Ruge Architekten (before Pysall Ruge) in collaboration with Prof Wang Xiaosong from DBH GmbH.
Congress Center Hangzhou, image courtesy Peter Ruge Architekten | Photo by Jan Siefke
The new building ensemble is situated close to huge Qiantang River not far from the city centre. It will be the focus building of the new large business and administration district of the city. The new fascinating complex consists of six office high-rise buildings arranged in a circle and connect in the upper floors through a circular bridge building. The high-rise buildings are flanked with flat multi-functional buildings including four main entrances from all directions. As the new central form of the main administration building of the City of Hangzhou the Congress Centre resembles a large precious stone.
Congress Center Hangzhou, image courtesy Peter Ruge Architekten | Photo by Jan Siefke
The façade design should support on one hand the unique modern architecture of the building ensemble but on the other hand it should be take up typical local or traditional aspects of the region also.
Congress Center Hangzhou - Elevation, drawing courtesy Peter Ruge Architekten
Congress Center Hangzhou - Section, drawing courtesy Peter Ruge Architekten
Zhejiang Province is known for its tea-producing region. To express the building’s regional characteristics, design of the façade is based on the superimposed configurations of the tea cultivation pathways and the planting nets. As a result, the building is enveloped by a multi-layered fabric, giving it a true architectural plasticity. Seen from a distance, the façade appears like a rigid volume, but dissolves into a network of structures and levels as you come closer.
Congress Center Hangzhou, image courtesy Peter Ruge Architekten | Photo by Jan Siefke
The main idea for the design of the roof was to use it as the fifth façade of the building to set up a strong and typical local image in the shape of a lotus blossom, which you can see from all upper floors of the surrounding high-rise buildings. The façade structure would be extended unto the roof of the congress centre to cover up it partly.
Congress Center Hangzhou - Roof plan, drawing courtesy Peter Ruge Architekten
Through the different lengths and fixed height of the steel beams the structure is waved and form the abstract blossom of lotus in the centre of the roof. This part isn’t covered and is designed and planted as a green landscape.
Congress Center Hangzhou, image courtesy Peter Ruge Architekten | Photo by Jan Siefke
+ Project credits / data
Project: Congress Center Hangzhou
Work: Façade planning for the Congress Centre, City of Hangzhou, China
Client:
Administration Department City of Hangzhou
Agency of Urban Planning
Hangzhou, P.R. China
Architect: Peter Ruge Architekten | http://www.peter-ruge.de/
Team: Pysall Ruge Architekten – Peter Ruge, Matthias Matschewski, Nicole Kubath
Façade’s consultant: Schlaich Bergemann und Partner
Project partner: DBH Stadtplanungs GmbH Hangzhou, Prof. Wang Xiaosong
Photograph: Jan Siefke
Location: Hangzhou, Zheijang Province, P.R.China
Brief: Façade design for the congress centre of the new administration complex of the city of Hangzhou
Size: Building above ground – GFA 22.000 sqm
Completion: 2011
Scope of services:
- Façades – design planning
- main Detail planning (scale 1:100 to scale 1:1)
- monitoring execution documents
+ All images and drawings courtesy Peter Ruge Architekten | Photo by Jan Siefke
