aving a similar composition and function as Central Park in Manhattan, but unlike the modern box-like buildings that only create a separation between the park and the city, Chaoyang Park Plaza instead is an expansion of nature. It is an extension of the park into the city, naturalising the CBD’s strong artificial skyline, borrowing scenery from a distant landscape – a classical approach to Chinese garden architecture, where nature and architecture blend into one another.

“In modern cities, architecture as an artificial creation is seen more as a symbol of capital, power or technological development; while nature exists independently. It is different from traditional Eastern cities where architecture and nature are designed as a whole, creating an atmosphere that serves to fulfil one’s spiritual pursuits,” says Architect Ma Yansong. “We want to blur the boundary between nature and the artificial and make it so that both are designed with the other in mind. Then, the argument in the modern logic of humans to protect or to destroy nature will no longer exist if we understand and see humans and nature as co-existing. Human behaviour and emotion is part of nature, and nature is where that originates and ends.”

Emulating organic landscapes

Inspired by traditional Chinese landscape paintings, the design remodels the relationship of large-scale architecture within our urban centres. It introduces natural forms and spaces – mountain, brook, creek, rocks, valley and forest – into the city. The asymmetrical twin-tower office buildings on the north side of the site sit at the base of the park’s lake and are like two mountain peaks growing out of the water. The transparent and bright atrium acts like a drawstring that pulls the two towers together by a connecting glass rooftop structure.

The small-scale, low-rise commercial buildings appear as mountain rocks that have endured long-term erosion. They seem to be randomly placed, but their strategic relationship to one another forms a secluded, but open urban garden, offering a place where people can meet within nature in the middle of the city.

The two multi-storey Armani apartments to the south-west continue this concept of ‘open-air living’ with their staggered balconies, offering each residential unit more opportunities to be exposed to natural sunlight and, ultimately, feel a particular closeness to nature.

The overall environment is shaped by smooth, curved surfaces of black and white, creating a quiet and mysterious atmosphere. It is one that evokes the emotion and aesthetic resonance of a traditional Chinese ink painting, creating a tranquil escape from the surrounding, bustling urban environment. The landscape that weaves itself in between the buildings incorporates pine trees, bamboo, rocks and ponds – all traditional Eastern landscape elements that imply a deeper connection between the architecture and classical space. Japanese Graphic Artist Kenya Hara led the design of the simple and refined signage system for the project.

Climate control

The project has been awarded the LEED ‘Gold’ certification by the US Green Building Council, as the idea of nature is not only embodied in the design concept, but in the innovation and integration of green technology as well. The vertical fins seen on the exterior glass facade emphasise the smoothness and verticality of the towers. They also function as the energy-efficient ventilation and filtration system drawing fresh air indoors. At the base of the towers, there is a pond that, while making it appear as if it’s going into infinity, works as an air cooling system in the summer, decreasing the overall temperature of the interior.

Divergent cities

Chaoyang Park Plaza completely transforms the model of building found in our cities’ central business districts. But even though it is located in the centre of Beijing’s CBD, the intention is for it to have a dialogue with the traditional and classical city of Beijing – reflecting the interdependence between man and nature, both in urban planning and the large-scale presentation of the Shanshui garden. In the painting of Wang Mingxian, an Architectural Historian, he juxtaposed Chaoyang Park Plaza into a classical landscape painting. The architecture and the natural scenery seemed harmonious together, unlike how some might think the buildings do not fit into their urban context. Commenting on this contrast, Ma Yansong said: “I don’t think that’s our problem. The real question is when did the original cultural context of this city disappear? We have the opportunity to try and create a different kind of city, that on a spiritual and cultural level, can be compared to the classical cities of Eastern philosophy and wisdom.”

Fact File:

Location: Xiamen, China
Typology:
Office, commercial, residential
Site area: 30,763m²
Building area: Above-ground 128,177m2, below-ground 94,832m2
Building height:142m
Principal partners in charge: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate partners in charge: Kin Li, Liu Huiying
Team: Fu Changrui, Zhao Wei, Li Guangchong, Lin Guomin, Bennet Hu Po-Kang, Nathan Kiatkulpiboone, Yang Jie, Julian Sattler, Younjin Park, Zhu Jinglu, Xue Yan, Zheng Fang, Matteo Vergano, Wing Lung Peng, Gustavo Maya, Li Yunlong, Tiffany Dahlen and Gustaaf Alfred Van Staveren
Client: Smart-hero (HK) Investment Development
Executive architects: CCDI Group
Facade consultant: RFR Asia
Facade optimisation: RFR Asia, Sane Form
Interior design (office and commercial): MADA s.p.a.m., Supercloud Studio
Interior design (residential): ARMANI/CASA Interior Design Studio
Graphic design: Kenya Hara + NDC China
Landscape design: Greentown Akin Landscape Architecture Co.
Interior lighting consultant: M&W Lighting
Landscape lighting consultant: Beijing Junhao Lighting Design Co.
LEED certification consultant: Shenzhen Institute of Building Research Co.