Gold Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2021
The Willow Shores in Suzhou Sales Center
by Gtd
- A' Design Award 2021 Gold Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2021
- CLIENT: Zhejiang GTD Architectural Planning & Design Co., Ltd.
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 22,816
- Verification code 0F461D7A51 · Verify this award
About The Willow Shores in Suzhou Sales Center
The Willow Shores in Suzhou is a sales center in Taihu New Town, Wuzhong District, Suzhou, China. The building covers 3,150 square meters and later serves as a supporting service building with offices, commercial spaces, elderly care rooms and equipment rooms. Modern materials such as rolled steel sections, aluminum plate, stone and glass are used. A light metal double-hipped roof is clad in zinc and manganese in the color of traditional tiles. The design interprets the forms and spaces of classical Suzhou gardens in a modern way.
The Willow Shores in Suzhou Sales Center by GTD represents a distinguished achievement within the contemporary dialogue between traditional East Asian spatial philosophy and modernist architectural expression, demonstrating how commercial architectural programs can transcend utilitarian function to create environments of profound contemplative beauty. This award-winning work appears to draw upon centuries of garden-making traditions where water features serve as instruments of reflection both literal and metaphorical, transforming the simple act of approach into a meditative experience. The compositional mastery evident in the precisely calibrated relationship between built form and reflective surface suggests deep engagement with phenomenological concerns, where architecture becomes less about object and more about the orchestration of atmospheric conditions and perceptual experiences. The circular aperture piercing the stone facade introduces what may be understood as a contemporary interpretation of the traditional moon gate, that threshold element so central to classical garden design, here rendered in modernist vocabulary while retaining its symbolic function as frame and transition. Technical accomplishment reveals itself through the seamless integration of multiple material systems: the hovering roof planes achieve remarkable visual lightness despite their apparent mass, the glass envelope dissolves boundaries between interior and exterior realms, and the sculptural installation of parallel metallic elements introduces kinetic suggestion into this otherwise still composition. The chromatic restraint, working within a sophisticated palette of cool neutrals punctuated by warm luminous accents, demonstrates mature artistic sensibility that privileges subtlety over spectacle. One observes how the lighting design transforms the quotidian into the extraordinary, with linear LED elements creating delicate luminous traces that guide the eye while the interior glow establishes warm focal points against the cooling twilight atmosphere. The inclusion of bamboo at the composition's periphery reinforces cultural continuity, suggesting how this contemporary intervention maintains dialogue with landscape traditions that have shaped the region's aesthetic consciousness for millennia. Viewers might contemplate how architecture, at its most accomplished, creates not merely shelter but conditions for heightened awareness of our relationship to light, water, sky, and the passing of time.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- It uses modern materials such as rolled steel sections, aluminum plate, stone and glass, and features a light metal double-hipped roof, offering a new visual impression. The team learned from the changing views of classic gardens, making visitors experience the fusion of feelings and scenery. The whole building looks delicate and full of changes. Walking within, visitors can enjoy the mix of modern and regional features and a modern interpretation of traditional forms and classic spaces.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Area: 3,150 Sqm
Functions: Sales center (before) / Supporting Service Building (after the delivery)
And the service building comprises offices and commercial spaces for property management, rooms for the elderly care and equipment rooms. - Tags
- Suzhou, Sales Center, Neo-Chinese, Garden, Delicate, Calm
- Production Technology
- The structure system is mainly developed by reinforced concrete frames and steel structures. Due to the long overhang of partial areas and light roof, the steel structure can better satisfy the design requirements. The main walls are made of glass and stone, using the installation method of dry hanging. The roofing adopts the steel keel clad in zinc and manganese with its color the same as that of traditional tiles for a perfect consistency of material and form.
- Design Challenge
- The project serves as a supporting service facility in the residential area. Before the delivery of residences, it is used as the sales center. Therefore, the most challenging part of the project is the conflicts among the planes and elevations caused by different functions before and after the delivery.
- Project Duration
- Timetable: 2019.08-2019.12
Location: Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China - Operation Flow
- Based on the previous research and study on the site and the client's actual needs on the overall project, a comprehensive design concept is gradually developed. Furthermore, given its location in Taihu New City that boasts a long history and rich culture, the project is built as an innovative example of a neo-Chinese style that mixes modernity and tradition.
- Research
- Based on the identification of Suzhou Culture and respect the site, the design team had consulted many times with Party A during the preliminary study of the project. The team put forward various design ideas on reflecting the regionalism with Chinese features, and eventually determined to interpret traditional space and form by modern materials.
- Inspiration
- Suzhou is one of the famous historical and cultural cities and a vital cradle of Wu Culture in China. It's renowned as a "heaven on earth". Classical gardens of Suzhou are the representative of Chinese private gardens. The project is sited in Taihu New Town. The architects hoped to use innovative techniques to embody the essence of classic gardens in a modern environment, making it a practitioner that returns culture to tradition, creates elegance from art and produces a poetic flavor from life.
- Image Credits
- Fan Yi
Colors of The Willow Shores in Suzhou Sales Center
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