Greenland Guiyang Guiyang, Guizhou
China's early developed cities have lost much of the physical evidence of their history as a result of demolition. The building relics from the past can tell an important story however of how and why our cities developed.
Location
Guiyang, Guizhou
Sector
Residential
Service
Architecture
Status
Completed
Size
1,389,000 SF
This project is located in a post-industrial region of Guiyang which once produced Aluminum. The factories are no longer active, and a new generation is pushing forward for a modern lifestyle. In order to tell the story of the past and inspire the next generation of innovators, this mixed-use community preserves some of the old structures and integrates them with new buildings. An old brick smokestack, painted with bright modern art, is the center of a public square and stands as a symbol of the community.
New stairs and viewing platforms will be added to the tower to allow visitors to get a higher vantage point of the area. In addition to this strong vertical element, our initial impression of the site was strongly influenced by the horizontal conveyors that moved products and pieces between the various functional parts of the factory. In today’s culture, people and ideas are the new commodities, so the new project also celebrates the functional / practical movement of people between buildings of different functions with colorful and dynamic walkways, bridges and stairs.
The project contains a rich mix of uses, including offices, hotel, residences, theater, retail shops, restaurants and exhibition center. As with the industrial past, building forms and materials are shaped unapologetically by their functions as a way to communicate clearly the fantastic and exciting mix of activity happening inside. And the composite whole of this development, including new buildings mixed with repurposed industrial ruins, stands proudly in the center of this new “city” not as a static snapshot in time, but as powerful evidence of how Guiyang’s constant progress.
