Heyuan City Administrative Centre

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This institutional project acts as the City Administrative Centre of Heyuan, a 3rd line city in Guangdong province, China. Heyuan is located just at the base of very large water catchment bodies and rivers which are the main catchment supply to neighboring cities in Guangdong province. Therefore, it is meaningful that 河源 means the “Origin of River or Water”.

 

This project features Two towers, one at 24-storeys and the other at 22-storeys which have chamfered and rippled green roofs whilst in the centre is a 3rd tower acting as the central lift and stair core which radically increases the floor efficiency due to sharing by both towers. At the base, is a 5-storey podium which is laid out on a radiating trapezoid plan. The Twin Towers are like Two Hands symbolizing an outreach to the sky to Harness Energy from the Sun to nurture the City Dwellers and Bioversity on the Building whilst the Central Tower Core symbolizes a Natural Green Belt or Green Waterfall where biodiversity thrives, reminiscent of the Symbolism behind Where the River Flows, there is Qi energy and there is biodiversity. At the Base of the Green Waterfall is a Qi “Energy” Garden where the Green Energy harnessed radiates out through the building into the Green Corridors at plaza level where there are water features, depicting the flow of the River water from a radiating centre into the City and in return, the attractiveness of the ground floor plaza bringing people from far and wide through these green corridors into the Complex where one can visit the Urban Construction Archives, Planning Exhibition Hall, City Exhibition Hall and Administrative Service Centre, pay tax or go to work in the two towers.

 

There are 3 levels of green planting. At the tower roofs, it expresses the wealth of the city, represented by its green and lush environment where the water flows. The central green waterfall tower then flows onto the roof of the podium where you find a landscaped green deck where people can take strolls. The green waterfall displaces all the way down into the Qi Garden on the ground level plaza and links into the landscaped linear public plaza. Therefore Green planting starts at the roof tops and links vertically from the twin towers down to the podium roof level where it spreads out into horizontal greening as an outdoor garden. And finally, the vertical greening finds its way down to the Ground Level into the Qi Garden at the base of the green waterfall, spreading out horizontally to form a linear open plaza with horizontal greening that links from the entrance of the building to the existing public park at the rear of the project. This whole composition of green landscaping forms a rich vertical and horizontal plane of green features in the project.

 

At the inception, we asked ourselves. “How do we design something stately and institutional but still be friendly for the people? A lot has to do with the image and the content. Therefore, we started from the inside out to make sure we fulfill our duty for the government and for our people. And how we can have an iconic looking building on the outside that is welcoming of the people to the inside where government is. It will be a building meant for the people, where they will find good service at their finger tips and they will feel comfortable coming on a daily basis and not feel stressed when they come to meet up with city officials”. Therefore, care for Visitors and worker staff alike.

 

Circulation will be Intuition based for Visitors to move through the different floors and departments. Escalators are used as vertical people movers between the different floors of the podium and high speed lifts are used to connect between the tower floors. The Ground Level Landscaped Linear Plaza will have amenities which you wouldn’t expect in a government building, for people to relax and meet up to do their regular administrative chores with the city council. At Roof Level Deck, the Landscaped Leisure Deck is where you can bring your family on a weekday or weekend to enjoy the gardens for relaxation. The podium fenestration facing the city is reminiscent of large windows where one can peer into the seat of government administration, symbolic of a friendly building, connecting between the government to the people. The top of the central core features a viewing deck meant to host government officials whom are visiting the building. The towers feature:

• Duplex Sky Gardens with

  • Outdoor Ecological Decks and Planting

  • Shared Meeting Rooms

• Sky Garden Linkages between Tower 1 and Tower 2 at Intermediate Levels

• Integrated circulation and usage of space between towers and podium at Ground Level, Levels 1-4 so that the podium acts as part of the podium

 

Location: Heyuan City, Guangdong, China

Client/Developer: Government of Heyuan City

Project Type: Institutional Office

Size: 58,307 m2 GFA; 73,499 m2 BUA