© 100architects
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
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What is a neighborhood intervention?
This is the medium scale type of interventions that take place in the public realm of a city, related to the altering of a portion of a neighborhood. A type of intervention of such magnitude and notoriety that impacts not only the immediate surrounding urban environment, but rather the urban dynamics of a whole neighborhood, becoming an urban landmark and a local attractor of social interactions in a given neighborhood.
Most of the times, this typology combines several intervention tactics such as Painted Scapes and Grounded Objects, intervening existing urban settings, almost from the lens of Landscape Design, by creating spaces of opportunity for collective leisure, entertainment, play & joy, etc., catalyzing major social interactions across the neighborhood.
The main objective of this typology is to trigger a massive public interest to the place through a strong visual impact, usually of a permanent nature, encouraging the rise of high public affluence and establishing an urban landmark that can cultivate important human dynamics and boost commercial activity.
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