Founded two years ago, the Z-ONE Architects studio explores creative solutions in different sectors, such as culture, media, technology or the Internet, to better describe the future vision of space design. This large-scale project, located in the agricultural park of Nantong, a city in China's coastal Jiangsu province, is a fine example. This complex of three buildings (tourist services center, exhibition hall, amenities), located in the park's entrance area, is designed to welcome visitors.
To achieve this, the architecture studio began by designing a transition between urban and rural experience, while embodying the emerging style of contemporary architecture. Seen from the air, the service center, a mix of steel and wood, looks like a flower with its petals. It comprises five spaces (library, exhibition, study, catering, multifunctional room for variable activities), fed by skylights. But it's above all the "rural life" exhibition room, designed in a spatial structure made of membranes, that catches the eye with its immaculate whiteness. Long, curved horizontal windows allow the interior space to be both separate from and integrated into the river landscape. Its shape, texture and soft lines reflect the theme and morphology of the park as a whole, completing the success of a complex that stands out from the Chinese urban panorama.
BIANLIN
Nathalie Dassa
