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?Architecture [ Architecture ], Urbanitarium [ Urbanism ]

Unit / 

Spatial Forces

The Knot - Quzhou

International Competition for Conceptual Design of Landmark Buildings of Quzhou - China

Category

March 10, 2023

Date

Area

100000

sqm

The Intelligent Tree project connects physical and virtual axes to respond to the site’s context. Understanding the location, access, and surrounding built environment. The axes are transformed through place-making, adding volume on top of the main tension action lines, and lifting off the ground to maintain a landscape of experience. We refer to these strips as roots, connecting Community - Industry - Ecology.

The Intelligent Tree project connects physical and virtual axes to respond to the site’s context. Understanding the location, access, and surrounding built environment. The axes are transformed through place-making, adding volume on top of the main tension action lines, and lifting off the ground to maintain a landscape of experience. We refer to these strips as roots, connecting Community - Industry - Ecology.

At the center, a knot brings together these root elements, together, and allows for the emergence of the twin towers. The twin towers follow a unique layout, each volume, including 2 distinct floor plates, connected with a community space that is populated with shared amenities and nature.

Experience Landscape

At the ground level, given the surroundings, and moving the volumes off the ground level, we create a patched landscape that is biodiverse, including agriculture, flowers, tiny forests, and green lawns. This is to support the phenomena of mental health in the workplace and create a promenade experience landscape.

Landmark in the Landscape

Given the ecological affordances offered by the context and the site, the building floats on top of the landscape and sits as an icon within the landscape.

The landmark engages with a clear and recognizable geometry strategy that comes from the ground up, with the Twin Towers emerging to frame the central axis.

ROOTS - KNOT - EMERGENCE Extended Paths and Axis Placemaking While the project is primarily based on the axes of the site, the placemaking process offers a diverse way of treatment for each. Some are totally elevated, some are composed of smaller volumes, some as a tunnel, etc. to add value to the landscape of experience. Scale and place identity The project celebrates the unity of the volumes to create a light yet large-scale construction. This gives the palace and the challenges proposed a new cognition, one that drives attention and becomes a symbol of that area. By doing that, the project not only celebrates the building itself but becomes a crucial part of the identity of the place The Intelligent Promenade A lot of thinkers in different fields and cultures are known to walk in nature, meditate, and observe. The intelligent promenade is one of biodiversity and gives people the chance to wander in it while having conversations, thinking, contemplating, etc. The promenade is the spine of the experience landscape. The Intelligent Tree ROOT - KNOT - EMERGENCE SEED - BLOSSOM - FRUIT Knowledge + Community = Innovation The interaction between companies of various scales is vital for a healthy growth environment. For that, we have created a layout where small companies ( seeds ), middle-size companies ( blossom ), and Large scale companies ( Fruit ) co-exist. While the smaller companies require more shared facilities and smaller private space, they are allocated to that. As they grow, they move towards larger spaces. Finally, once ripe, the fruit acquires its large-scale space at the base of the building.

Project Team

Firas Safieddine
Yimeng Wei

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