Vanke Cloud City Phase 2

designed by Atelier Scale + Lab D+H /

Location: China / Guangzhou / Type: Playgrounds / Residential Parks / Streets / Built: 2016 /
Show on Google Maps / Published on June 27, 2016

Lab D+H: Located in Guangzhou, Vanke Cloud City Phase 2 is a pioneer mixed use development project in China. It is composed of four residential towers with over 5000 small apartments (8-35 sq.m) surrounded by fashionable commercial frontage. This project is one of the first small apartment projects in China, aiming to satisfy the young newcomers who work in big cities but cannot afford the high price of real estate. With small apartments, young people can continue living in first tier cities, enjoying rich career opportunities, modern facilities, comprehensive public services, and access to cutting-edge information, all while still being able to afford a home.

There are two challenges for this project: targeting a young, trendy demographic and keeping construction costs low. To address these challenges, we developed the following creative design strategies and demonstrated them in the showcase area:

Modular grid system

We based the overall landscape framework on a modular grid system. From softscape, to paving, to outdoor furniture and installation, landscape elements are arranged on this modular system so that they are easy to construct, assemble, and replace. For hard landscape materials we used Vanke precast concrete modules. Vanke modules are not currently popular in China, but their utilization allows us to reduce costs, and avoid over-exploitation of natural stone (which is a conservation issue in China).

Modular furniture system

Assembled precast concrete modular outdoor furniture is used extensively in this project. We designed only two basic precast concrete modules, but these could be recombined and assembled into more than 20 different combinations. Customers can choose the most comfortable furniture combination to meet their needs. The freedom to choose flexible furniture combinations will appeal strongly to a young market.

Interactive landscape installation

We designed a series of fun, interactive installations. The Cloud Line is a continuous tubular steel structure, bent into a bar, parallel bars, monkey bars, benches, and other fitness facilities. Orange glaze paint made the Cloud Line vibrant and youthful. Cloud Seat is a modular set of interactive spaces made of pre-perforated steel plate. Seating stacks up vertically and extends horizontally to create a fun place for interactive communication. Cloud Seat is lit up at night and produces stunning lighting effects through the perforated plate.
Through joint efforts with our client, the design was fully executed. The showcase area also received public praise.

Data

Project Location: Guangzhou, China
Client: Guangzhou Vanke
Landscape Architect: Lab D+H
Design Team: Huicheng Zhong, YoungJoon Choi, Zhongwei Li, Jin Huang, Miao Lin, Liujun Deng, Nan Lin, Feimin Song, Hao Lan, Qin Zan
Design/Construction: Feb 2016 / May 2016
Site Area: 4,000 SQM
Photo Credits: James Cheng

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