Gold Landscape Planning and Garden Design · 2022
Merchants International Cruise City Demonstration Area
- A' Design Award 2022 Gold Winner in Landscape Planning and Garden Design
- Awarded April 15, 2022
- CLIENT: Chongqing Jialian Landscape Design Co., Ltd.
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 60,837
- Verification code 074A1DECE3 · Verify this award
About Merchants International Cruise City Demonstration Area
Merchants International Cruise City is a permanent landscape design for a demonstration area in Zhanjiang City, China. The landscape area covers 10783 square meters. The design refers to the nearby sea areas and uses waves and boats as recurring themes. Water features and undulating corridors recall mountains and water. The corridors are made of perforated aluminium plates in wave grey, with carved hollow patterns that are lit at night. Visitors move through a valley, a canyon, a shaded forest and a plank road to the waterfront.
JIALIAN Design's Merchants International Cruise City Demonstration Area emerges as a compelling meditation on the dialogue between architectural assertiveness and landscape receptivity, positioning itself within the contemporary tradition of experiential placemaking where built form and natural systems achieve meaningful synthesis, the work demonstrates sophisticated command of several intersecting design philosophies, drawing upon the parametric movement's interest in computationally derived surface articulation while maintaining grounding in Eastern aesthetic principles of reflection, void, and contemplative pause, the perforated facade treatment functions simultaneously as environmental screen, decorative surface, and nocturnal light instrument, transforming what might otherwise read as sheer mass into an activated membrane that breathes with interior illumination, technically the project achieves remarkable precision in the alignment of thousands of diamond-shaped apertures across the inclined surface, each positioned to contribute to both the daytime reading of architectural texture and the evening emergence of scattered luminosity, the reflecting pool serves multiple purposes beyond its visual doubling effect, establishing a threshold condition that separates arrival from destination, creating microclimate benefits through evaporative cooling, and introducing the meditative qualities of still water into an otherwise urban commercial context, the chromatic strategy proves particularly accomplished, limiting the palette to variations of blue-gray architecture against warm interior tones, allowing the sky gradient to participate as an active compositional element rather than mere background, the moon gate sculptural element introduces circular geometry that softens the predominant angularity while referencing traditional garden architecture and establishing a framed view that invites contemplation of distant elements, visitors approaching this space might consider how the work transforms functional demonstration into spatial experience, and how the careful orchestration of reflection, light, and material creates a threshold moment that prepares consciousness for meaningful engagement with what lies beyond
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The project is a permanent demonstration area. The design pays attention to the spirit of the site, from the local construction and materials to integration of the community. The team runs the regional elements through the whole project design, and shows magnificent scene of the site through the design method of borrowing and matching to build different scenes with steps. The design combines the vastness, profundity and quietness of the sea with the elements of waves and boats to create the artistic conception of harmony between man and nature.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The landscape area of the project is 10783 square meters.
- Tags
- Sculpture, nature, art, science and technology, sponge City, photo spot
- Production Technology
- In terms of the use of the material of the corridors, the designers use the perforated aluminum plate of wave gray and carve out the hollow pattern on them. When night falls and the light is sparse, the corridors is like a tunnel of time and space, fulling with a sense of future and science and technology.
- Design Challenge
- The first challenge is that we need to reflect the corporate culture of the developer and establish its brand confidence, and the cultural context of Zhanjiang City at the same time. Establishing cultural identity will be the first consideration at the beginning of the project design.
The second challenge is that the landscape and architecture can supplement each other, and the architectural form can be highly publicized. - Project Duration
- The project, located in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, China, was launched in October 2018 and completed in September 2019.
- Operation Flow
- The earth art on both sides of the main entrance forms a excellent driving experience through a valley. When citizens enter the valley, they can see the architectural sculpture floating in the water for the first time. The triangular symbol of this architecture echoes with the earth art of landscape.
Out of the parking lot, citizens may walk through the canyon under shade trees and aluminum plates with wave pattern are on their sides. After that, people can see the covered corridors between the canyons by guidance of a signboard, which leads they into the building as gaining the deck.
Coming out of the building, people may go through a beautiful forest, combined with simple lower plants to create a simple and quiet backcourt environment. The waterscape between the building and the corridors forms a water bay. Through the plank road to the seaside, citizens can enjoy the forest and the waterfront. - Research
- Study on site ecology
1. The undulating site forms a microclimate, a sense of wrapping around the periphery. The interior water surface reduces the air humidity and the internal consumption of the building (when the outdoor air temperature exceeds 30 degrees Celsius and the relative humidity is lower than 70%, the evaporation of water can reduce the indoor air humidity).
2. The slope surface can not only digest the amount of soil, but also carry out organized drainage. The terrain is like a sponge, allowing water to gather and spread.
THE CREATIVE / RESEARCH CHALLENGE**:
The first challenge is that the team needs to reflect the corporate culture of the developer and establish its brand confidence, and the cultural context of Zhanjiang City at the same time. Establishing cultural identity will be the first consideration at the beginning of the project design.
The second challenge is that the landscape and architecture can supplement each other, and the architectural form can be highly publicized. - Inspiration
- This design uses for reference for the South China Sea and local sea area, and combines with the spirit of China Merchants Group, shows the momentum of sailing and its spirit of embracing all rivers. The design team build waterscape and undulant corridors as mountains and water of the South China Sea and local sea area. Also, some open architectures and interesting natural environment inspired designers to find the best expression between the macro and micro views.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Xi Tang,Cruise City,2019
Image #2: Photographer Xi Tang,Cruise City,2019
Image #3: Photographer Xi Tang,Cruise City,2019
Image #4: Photographer Xi Tang,Cruise City,2019
Image #5: Photographer Xi Tang,Cruise City,2019