MAGMA FLOW

Magma Flow
Ningbo | Zhejiang | China

Magma Flow is a stimulating urban activation of a pedestrian street from a newly built commercial and residential area in the port city of Ningbo, the second-most populous city in Zhejiang Province, China.

Magma Flow | Official Video | 100 Channel

One of the most characteristic features of this place is the presence of grand stairs that serve as pedestrian access to the open second floor of the commercial street.

In order to activate this pedestrian junction and turn it into an eventful and eye-catching public space, colonizing the stairs extending and detaching the proposal from the horizontal plane of the floor was early identified as a key action to gain visibility, and from which the rest of the proposal could be articulated.

Thus, what before were just simple stairs to access the second floor, is now a volcano of public activity by inserting several amphitheaters at different levels, providing the stairs with platforms for hanging out and resting; shading structures mimicking the violent eruptive process, while providing shadow to the new resting areas; and even some slides resembling the erupted lava going down the hill.

To continue with the narrative on the rest of the space, a huge stain of erupted magma razes the ground level with color and playful functions for kids and adults alike, generating a very eye-catching multifunctional plaza right at the pedestrian junction. The flow of magma creates an intense & vivid circuit of events and spaces arising by its side.

Among the functions that we can find on the magma plaza, there are several seatings and resting areas located under shadowing canopies, as well as mahjong & tic-tac-toe tables and a lounge area for adults. For the joy & entertainment of kids, we equipped the space with a swing pergola, seesaws, slides, hills and bumps, tunnels, punching bags & challenging obstacles along the circuit.

Altogether, the proposal creates an incandescent public space that acts as an urban attractor and entertainment hotspot within the new commercial and residential development.

Credits

PROJECT NAME: Magma Flow
DESIGN: 100 Architects (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
DESIGN TEAM: Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Mónica Páez, Lara Broglio, Ponyo Zhao, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Hayley Huang, Michelle Aldora, Jango Zhang & Yuntong Liu.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Jenny Fan, Nicholas Lv & Eva Jiang.
CLIENT: Vanke China Co., Ltd. (Ningbo Division)
SIZE: 1,350 m2
STATUS: Built
LOCATION: Ningbo, China
PHOTOGRAPHY: Rex Zhou
VIDEOGRAPHY: This is Lalo Productions

OVER THE RAINBOW

Over The Rainbow
Changsha | Hunan | China

Over the Rainbow is an eye-catching rooftop renovation depicting a rainbow, designed for the activation of an unused terrace onto a commercial building in Changsha, capital & largest city of Hunan Province, in China.

Over The Rainbow | Official Video | 100 Channel

The renovation of the rooftop intends to create a trendy outdoor community hub, as a meeting point and leisure space with privileged views over the Xiang River, for youngsters and families visiting the commercial building in Kaifu District.

Taking advantage of the arched shape of the rooftop, the project is driven by the idea of using programmatic parallel stripes of color that would enhance that arched shape forming a rainbow outdoor. Each of the stripes represented in a different color is a platform hosting specific functions and features that encourage social interactions through leisure and play.

Those programmatic stripes initially executed as 2D floor graphics for circulation, in certain moments become 3D shapes forming urban furniture, play structures, and objects for leisure.

The whole system of stripes itself also becomes 3-dimensional, by elevating certain stripes from the ground level, in order to create a social amphitheater with enhanced views to the Xiang River, or even vertical walls which quickly grab the attention of visitors with interesting shapes & patterns, as trendy selfie spots for social media sharing.

The social amphitheater is crowned with a very eye-catching logo of “I ♡ 长沙”, as the main recognizable & distinctive IP image of the rooftop.

To culminate the fun on the rooftop, we included a 12-meters-high spiral slide going down from the rooftop on the 6th floor to the terrace on the 5th floor.

Altogether, the rooftop intervention enhances and stimulates the experience of visitors in all senses, and creates successfully a very colorful and stimulating community hub for Kaifu District right on the top of Changsha Beichen Delta Joy City Shopping Mall.

Credits

PROJECT NAME: Over the Rainbow
DESIGN: 100 Architects (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
DESIGN TEAM: Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Mónica Páez, Lara Broglio, Ponyo Zhao, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Hayley Huang, Michelle Aldora, Jango Zhang & Yuntong Liu.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Jenny Fan, Nicholas Lv & Eva Jiang.
PRODUCTION: Teyo
CLIENT: COFCO Joy City + Beijing North Star
SIZE: 1,500 m2
STATUS: Built
LOCATION: Changsha, Hunan Province (China)
PHOTOGRAPHY: Rex Zhou
VIDEOGRAPHY: Lalo López

I ♡ CHANGSHA

I ♡ CHANGSHA
Changsha | Hunan | China

I love Changsha is an urban intervention designed for the beautification and activation of the public realm of the riverbanks of the Xiang River in Changsha, the capital & largest city of Hunan Province, in China.

I ♡ CHANGSHA | Official Video | 100 Channel

The eye-catching public artwork intends to create a trendy & recognizable urban landmark at the main front plaza, using giant letters as a cheerful IP logo of the city’s name. The artwork is also thought to be a catalyzer for social interactions around it, as an outdoor meeting point and leisure space with privileged views over the Xiang River, enhancing the guest experience of youngsters and families visiting the commercial building in Kaifu District.

Besides serving as an eye-catching & cheerful logo to be watched and photographed as perfect social media content to be shared, the project also offers play equipment hidden inside the capsules that form the name Changsha, for joy & entertainment of the little ones.

Thus, it is also an “urban toy” for Kaifu District kids, creating a challenging Play Route which can be traversed from the initial letter “C” to the ending “A” and vice versa, as a course of obstacles that help kids to develop their physical abilities and cognitive skills while having fun and being photographed by their parents from the outside, for the memorable experience to be kept.

The design of the artwork also contemplates the letter “I” as a circular bench, and the “Heart” as a communal swing, both allowing youngsters to sit down, take a break, or shoot some selfies with intergalactic & colorful backgrounds.

Altogether, the “I ♡ CHANGSHA” public artwork intervention enhances and stimulates the pedestrian’s experience of the public riverbank, successfully creating a very colorful and stimulating city logo for Kaifu District, right on at Changsha Beichen Delta.

Credits

PROJECT NAME: I LOVE CHANGSHA
DESIGN: 100 Architects (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
DESIGN TEAM: Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Mónica Páez, Lara Broglio, Ponyo Zhao, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Hayley Huang, Michelle Aldora, Jango Zhang & Yuntong Liu.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Jenny Fan, Nicholas Lv & Eva Jiang.
PRODUCTION: Teyo
CLIENT: COFCO Joy City + Beijing North Star
SIZE: Artwork
STATUS: Built
LOCATION: Changsha, Hunan Province (China)
PHOTOGRAPHY: Rex Zhou
VIDEOGRAPHY: Lalo López

CODED SCAPE

Coded Scape
Hangzhou| China

Coded Scape is an urban landscape architectural project of 10.000 m2 that surrounds the Hangzhou Future City Experience Center, in Hangzhou, capital and most populous city of Zhejiang Province, China.

Coded Scape | Official Video | 100 Channel

The Future City Experience Center, a showroom of smart technologies applied to the urban realm, is one of the buildings that make up a new Tech Hub in the Fuyang District of Hangzhou, city known to be home of Chinese tech industry leading companies.

Our intention was to transfer to the surrounding landscape this strong tech character, playing with the idea of binary code, in the form of black & white or full & empty, applied to the base canvas of the landscape, the pavement & the greenery.

Thus, the pavement & greenery patterns resemble a binary code language, onto which we insert colorful bits of activity, as platforms for social interaction within the space.

Inspired by the modular rhythm of the main building’s structure, we trace an imaginary grid that helps us allocate and distribute geometrical landscape features in different scales, from tiny pixels of grass, passing through middle patches of geometrical bushes to bigger platforms of urban furniture & activity areas for education & entertainment.

Within the entire landscape, we strategically place a few focal points, either as resting areas or gathering points, as well as educational, leisure & entertainment spaces.

In this way, a Circle’s Plaza can be found at the pedestrian entrance as a meeting point for visitors; a Bots Playground is located right next to the observation tower for the entertainment of kids; a series of 4 mini-plazas make up the main educational & activity area right by the side of the main circulation area, and a calm Coded Garden is placed in between the buildings in order to serve them both as a resting spot for workers and visitors from both buildings.

Altogether, the landscape enhances and stimulates the experience of visitors in the public realm even before entering the Experience Center.

Credits

PROJECT NAME: Coded Scape
DESIGN: 100 Architects (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
DESIGN TEAM: Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Mónica Páez, Lara Broglio, Ponyo Zhao, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Hayley Huang, Michelle Aldora, Jango Zhang & Yuntong Liu.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Jenny Fan, Nicholas Lv & Eva Jiang.
PRODUCTION: Hangzhou Dahang sculpture landscape Engineering Co., Ltd
CLIENT: Sunac Properties + CCCC Urban Investments
SIZE: 10,000 m2
STATUS: Built
LOCATION: Hangzhou (China)
PHOTOGRAPHY: Rex Zhou
VIDEOGRAPHY: Rex Zhou

OLYMPIA ON TOUR

Olympia On Tour
Nimbo | Hangzhou | China

Olympia on Tour is a remake of our playful urban intervention “Olympia”, done back in 2017, inspired by sports for the activation of different public spaces. This time, driven by a “plug & play” strategy, it is intended to be itinerant throughout several cities in China.

OLYMPIA ON TOUR | Official Video | 100 Channel

It has been installed first in the city of Ningbo, in the fall of 2021, and early next year will be moving to Hangzhou, with several other cities in the pipeline.

It is part of a series of itinerant “plug & play” installations developed by 100architects to promote physical activity among kids, aiming to activate and improve numerous public spaces as well as the experience of citizens in the public realm with just a single installation which can be enjoyed in several cities, turning temporarily pedestrian streets and plazas into eye-catching and exciting pop-up hotspots of fun and entertainment.

The project is composed of 2 surreal sports fields, Basketball & Tennis, in which users cannot strictly and officially play those sports, but instead, they can immerse themselves into a surreal themed play environment.

Understanding sports as a physical recreation, or any form of physical activity undertaken in leisure time for the sake of pleasure & entertainment, rather than high-performance sports facilities for only athletes, we believe that through recreational amenities in the Public Realm that go beyond the spatial norms of typical sports facilities, we can foster healthier lifestyles in a wider range of social groups.

Those surreal sports fields are linked together by a running track, providing play opportunities for kids, as well as resting opportunities on an innovative “bitten” wooden deck that acts as public furniture and meeting point for adults and other social groups, fostering social interactions within the installation.

Credits

PROJECT NAME: Olympia on Tour
DESIGN: 100 Architects (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
DESIGN TEAM: Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Mónica Páez, Lara Broglio, Ponyo Zhao, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Hayley Huang, Michelle Aldora, Jango Zhang & Yuntong Liu.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Jenny Fan, Nicholas Lv & Eva Jiang.
PRODUCTION: Hong Yang Advertising
CLIENT: Yintai Properties
SIZE: 250 m2
STATUS: Built
LOCATION: Several (China)
PHOTOGRAPHY: Rex Zhou
VIDEOGRAPHY: Rex Zhou

RIVER LOOP

River Loop
Rionegro | Antioquia | Colombia

River Loop is a metropolitan intervention in the riverbanks of Rionegro that extends for over 4 kilometers in length. The master plan defines not only the riverfront itself but also the areas adjacent to the river as a public park with urban equipment of different types for all kinds of users.

In order to face the immense challenge of imagining the Rionegro Park of the future, and in what way the project could better serve the citizens of Rionegro, our proposal inevitably finds inspiration in the River itself that gives name to its city, and around which the entire project is developed.

Deliberately, the proposal allows itself to be suggested and seduced by that sinuous and meandering silhouette of the River to generate a new public framework that is less Cartesian and more sinuous, less abrupt and more friendly with the human scale and with the pedestrian, less gray and more welcoming and stimulating, capable of reconnecting the city and its citizens with their quintessential natural public space, the River.

In this way, the main purpose of the proposal is focused on creating a hybrid urban-natural system intertwining three fundamental aspects of the landscape: controlled natural ecosystems, pedestrian accessibility, and a public functional program.

In the first place, the proposal aims to generate controlled hybrid spaces, interspersing nature and architecture, on the one hand, to contribute to generating a healthy natural ecosystem along both riverbanks, and on the other, to do it in such a way that it can be accessible and enjoyable by citizens, creating a true urban-natural environmental corridor along the winding route.

To achieve this first aim, we create a matrix of different typologies of riverbanks which can be allocated according to the needs of the immediate context around, the program planned to be inserted, and the level of desired pedestrian accessibility. That matrix contains 12 different typologies that would create a remarkable everchanging riverbank experience keeping users entertained over the 4 kilometers length of the intervention.

In the second instance, it is developed a network of urban affluents of the River in the form of interconnected winding roads, which allow easy pedestrian access throughout the entire promenade, generating new opportunities for citizens to reconnect with the natural ecology of their emblematic River.

However, these roads are not only limited to ground level, they are often separated from the ground level to cross over other roads, form a pedestrian bridge over water or highways, or connect to a pedestrian route at a higher level.

These new landscaping affluents in turn provide the third fundamental element of the design, an abundant public program of activities throughout the park. The paths overlap and intersect, diverge and converge, twist and turn, rise and fall, generating concavities and convexities that allow hosting squares, viewpoints, amphitheaters, cafes, meeting points, sports areas, children’s play areas, etc.

The result is a public park with a dramatic multifunctional character.

Finally, this urban renewal strategy, supported by these three fundamental pillars, also makes use of our particular theory of hyper-stimulation applied to public spaces through the strategic use of color, to truly turn the project into an urban-natural landmark at the national and international level.

In a country with roots as colorful as Colombia, where color influences people’s emotions and mental state so positively, what better way to extend an invitation to all Rionegreros/as to reconnect with their Rio, than through an immense canvas of color that stimulates and elevates their sense of belonging and pride for their city?

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Credits

PROJECT NAME: River Loop
DESIGN: 100 Architects (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
DESIGN TEAM: Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Mónica Páez, Lara Broglio, Ponyo Zhao, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Hayley Huang, Michelle Aldora, Jango Zhang & Yuntong Liu.
CLIENT: Sociedad Colobiana de Arquitectos / Gobernación de Antioquia
SIZE: 100 Ha. (4 km. river length)
STATUS: Concept Design
LOCATION: Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia

URBAN RIPPLE

Urban Ripple
Guangzhou | China

Urban Ripple is a hyper-stimulating public space designed by 100architects around a newly built Exhibition Center in Guangzhou, the most populous city of Guangdong Province, China.

Driven by youngster’s lifestyle, the Exhibition Center intends to call the attention of millennials and Gen Z through a wide range of functions, such as Modern Art Gallery, Party Rooms, Cinema, Band Room, Workshop Room, etc.

Urban Ripple | Official Video | 100 Channel

In order to follow up that narrative, 100architects was commissioned to design a very eye-catching, stimulating and multifunctional public space surrounding the building, aiming to boost the visitor experience before even entering the building. The hyper-stimulating space is permanently open to public, not only for the Exhibition Center’s visitors but any passerby since this area completely belongs to the public realm.

The project is inspired by the famous Zhujiang River (Pearl River), one of the most important and proud icons of Guangzhou, which also gives name to the client’s company. It features a simple yet striking combinative system of geometrized water ripples, where the main public functions for social interaction are placed, and striped urban corridors resembling the flow of the river while suggesting and encouraging pedestrian circulation.

The main space of the project is right in front of the exhibition center; a colorful sunken plaza with seating features, greenery and shading structures, strategically located in the heart of this urban space, contrasting with all the greyscale circulations revolving around itself.

Besides the patterns, the use of color plays a key role in the clear definition of both spaces, the one for staying and engaging socially as well as the one for circulating. Thus, circulation corridors are solved with shades of grey stone pavement, while for injecting vitality in functional spaces, vibrant colors are applied, using as a base, shades of aquamarine color for the pavements. On the other hand, contrasting, energetic & uplifting colors highlight the urban furniture and other features, in order to call and direct the attention of passersby.

The project is not only in the ground floor, but also extends to the rooftop of the building colonizing with an elevated plaza the top floor of the Exhibition Center, filling it up with colors, shading structures and seating features.

Urban Ripple is equipped with several sitting features, amphitheaters for gathering or public performances, lounge areas, stools & tables under canopies to rest under shadows, as well as playful and interactive features, offering joyful and entertainment spaces for all kind of age groups.

Altogether, the proposal creates a very uncommon and surprising public space, beautifying the surroundings of the Exhibition Center while boosting and stimulating visitors’ senses and experiences in the public realm.

Credits

PROJECT NAME: Urban Ripple
DESIGN: 100 Architects (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
DESIGN TEAM: Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Mónica Páez, Lara Broglio, Ponyo Zhao, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Hayley Huang, Michelle Aldora, Jango Zhang & Yuntong Liu.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Jenny Fan, Nicholas Lv & Eva Jiang.
CLIENT: Zhujiang Properties
SIZE: 4,000 m2
STATUS: Built
LOCATION: Guangzhou (China)
PHOTOGRAPHY: 郭小良
VIDEOGRAPHY: Lalo Lopez

OCTOPUS KINGDOM

Octopus Kingdom
Shenzhen | China

Octopus Kingdom is a new example of eye-catching urban playscape designed by 100architects on the rooftop of Gateaway One, a newly built shopping mall in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China. It is a hyper-stimulating urban toy for Nanshan District and for all the visitors of the mall, a colorful intervention that acts as an urban attractor, calling the attention by standing out from its urban surrounding environment.

Octopus Kingdom | Official Video | 100 Channel

Octopus Kingdom By Rex Zou | Official Video | 100 Channel

The playscape resembles a small village of sand castles on the seaside, and a gigantic Octopus emerging from the sea and approaching curiously the shore of this paradisiac beach, mesmerized by those colorful sand castles.

The 7-meters-high Octopus head, arises as the main IP play object visible from all the surrounding buildings, while its 8 wavy & meandering tentacles are playful courses of challenging activities and obstacles at the ground level, helping children to develop their physical abilities and cognitive skills while learning through play.

The 9 colorful sand castles on the beach create a “Play Route” which children can travel crossing from castle to castle, discovering new play opportunities in each of them.

The colorful floor, solved with EPDM to absorb impacts while playing, renders a beach, by using different shades of yellow to represent the sand, and different shades of blue to represent the sea.

Besides the main Octopus and the sand castles, the playscape is equipped with several sitting features, like the amphitheater for gathering, or stools & tables under a group of marine canopies for adults to rest while kids have fun.

The decorative lighting strategy seeking to achieve an impressive night effect, highlights the most recognizable profiles of the project, that is all the edges of the Octopus head, the edges of the sand castles and the edges of the amphitheater. Sparkling dots of light are embedded into the floor for a magical environmental effect, while custom-made algae-shaped lamps are implemented in the perimeter for a holistic and immersive marine experience.

Credits

PROJECT NAME: Octopus Kingdom
DESIGN: 100 Architects (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
DESIGN TEAM: Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Mónica Páez, Lara Broglio, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Ponyo Zhao, Elena Michelutti, Hayley Huang, Jango Zhang & Yuntong Liu.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Jenny Fan, Nicholas Lv & Eva Jiang.
CLIENT: Shenzhen Merchants Real Estate
SIZE: 750 m2
STATUS: Built
LOCATION: Shenzhen (China)
PHOTOGRAPHY: Rex Zou
VIDEOGRAPHY: Lalo Lopez

THE NEST

The Nest
Chongqing | China

The Nest is another example of eye-catching and hyper-stimulating design done by 100architects to improve and beautify the urban public realm, in this case in the city of Chengdu, the capital of the Chinese province of Sichuan.

The Nest | Official Video | 100 Channel

The Nest By Rex Zou | Official Video | 100 Channel

The project belongs to a particular typology of urban public interventions intending to be “urban toys for the city”. Following the studio’s belief that “Play is not only for kids”, 100architects have designed this urban playscape to boost joy and entertainment for kids and adults alike, regardless of their age. A colorful playscape that acts as an urban attractor, calling the attention by standing out from its urban surrounding environment.

The narrative of the design of this multifunctional playscape, and hence its name The Nest, is driven and inspired by the idea of a colorful birth, a magical moment of birth of two little chicks in their nest, being accompanied by their mother bird, who is trying to provide them with their first meal.

The three birds, as main IP objects, emerge in the center as vertical play structures which can be habitable by kids, climbing up & sliding down, finding in each of them different play opportunities. Surrounding the main birds, the project evolves with a pattern based on circles, which act as platforms for leisure and social interaction and in which a wide range of other functions are implemented in order to enhance the multifunctionality of the playscape.

Those surrounding circles provide kids for instance with a sunken sandpit, swings or a trampoline; youngsters with a round ping-pong table and a fitness core; and adults & elders with features such as a Chinese chess table, elderly exercising equipment, and even different sitting components under eggshell-shaped canopies for shadowing.

As a way of sewing all the circular components together, a meandering running track is used around them, turning the playscape into a multifunctional circuit of events to be enjoyed by kids & adults alike.

To complete this urban intervention in a holistic way, the surrounding landscape is also solved with circular shapes of greenery, bushes, flowers and trees, enclosing the playscape in a safe way for kids to play freely.

The colorful floor, solved with EPDM to absorb impacts while playing, renders a wide range of patterns, graphics and interactive games which connect the different spaces and activities of the space.

The night effect of the project enhances the meandering shapes of all the eggshells through decorative lighting with flex LED strips on the edges. This includes the eggshells from which the little chicks are arise, and the ones serving as shadowing canopies. For functional lighting, lampposts were designed with smaller eggshell-shaped lamps on top.

Credits

PROJECT NAME: The Nest
DESIGN: 100 Architects (Shanghai)
DESIGN TEAM: Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Mónica Páez, Lara Broglio, Ponyo Zhao, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Hayley Huang, Jango Zhang & Yuntong Liu.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Jenny Fan, Nicholas Lv & Eva Jiang.
CLIENT: New Hope Group (新希望集团)
SIZE: 1,300 m2
STATUS: Built
LOCATION: Chengdu (China)
PHOTOGRAPHY: Rex Zou
VIDEOGRAPHY: Lalo Lopez

HERMIT RETREAT

Hermit retreat
Pingwu County | Sichuan Province | China

Tradition vs. Modernity

The Hermit retreat has been designed to become a distinguished rural destination in Pingwu County, where Chinese tradition meets modern luxury.

Therefore, the design is strongly inspired in traditional Chinese rural architecture, but with a modern twist. We believe that the mixture of traditional & modern styles is the key for a successful boutique touristic destination in a rural setting. Thus, we have adopted certain traditional features of Chinese rural architecture into our design.

Fish-bone Masterplan vs. Atomized Masterplan

The challenge of this project was designing 1 rural hotel split in 2 different plots. The original position of the existing buildings in Plot 1 and Plot 2 are irregular and atomized.

Therefore, with the aim of sewing both plots together, we use a Fish-bone Scheme, in which the central path in between both plots is the main spine or lane, and from there we can easily reach and access every pavilion through secondary paths.

In order to achieve an efficient Fish-bone Scheme, we re-position all the pavilions nearby the main spine, separating the pavilions in Plot 2 from the neighbor pre-existing constructions on the North part, and proposing new pavilions in Plot 1, also closer to the central path.

The main spine, besides being the main circulation area, turns into a platform with areas for contemplation and social interaction, uniting both plots naturally into one comprehensive joint proposal.

Villas vs. Rooms

In order to offer a premium, private, cozy, boutique experience, we opted for organizing the units in separated wooden villas built on piles, rather than in rooms within the same building. This enhances the sense of privacy, and allows us to create private outdoor terraces to connect with nature in a much closer way.

The Elevated Lobby Building

The lobby building has been elevated from the ground level in order to obtain an extra covered, usable, open public space underneath for social interactions among guests. This open common space counts with a BBQ area, and a communal long table for sharing meals or bonfires at night.

Since it’s covered but not closed, its GFA counts as 50%, a good strategy to gain a big common usable area without increasing too much the total GFA of the plot.

The GFA of Happiness

Even though the GFA for the entire project was very limited, we have prioritized comfort, coziness, and happiness over built m2.

In the Plot 1, the brief suggested to use 160m2 as maximum building area, using 100m2 for the Lobby & common areas, and 60m2 in rooms. We completely inverted that formula, dedicating 100m2 to the villas to be able to get 3 villas of 33,3 m2 each + outdoor terrace, while using only 60m2 for the Lobby Building.
In the Plot 2, the brief suggested to use 120m2 as maximum building area, dedicating 100m2 to rooms and just 20m2 to open pavilions.

The Outdoor Areas

Attractive common outdoor areas can be used as selling points by the hotel managers, and ultimately will be what makes a great experience for guests.

Besides the central path as a space for contemplation, with outdoor seating opportunities, we have also created twisted versions of Chinese pavilions, covered spaces fostering social gatherings, playing, resting and fun outdoor experiences.

As outdoor features, we also created a “Gate Element” inspired in Chinese gates placed at the entrances of old towns or neighborhoods, indicating that once trespassing that gate, the nice experience begins.

Credits

PROJECT NAME: Hermit retreat
DESIGN: 100 Architects (Shanghai)
DESIGN TEAM: Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Mónica Páez, Lara Broglio, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Ponyo Zhao, Elena Michelutti, Hayley Huang, Jango Zhang & Yuntong Liu.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Jenny Fan, Nicholas Lv & Eva Jiang.
CLIENT: Fortune Art Magazine (FA财富堂杂志社)
SIZE: 750m2
STATUS: Concept Design
LOCATION: Sichuan (China)