Born With Legend 社区中心 by Shanghai PTArchitects

Born With Legend 社区中心 by Shanghai PTArchitects is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award 金奖 in 建筑与结构设计 Competition Category.

金建筑· 2021

Born With Legend 社区中心

by Shanghai PTArchitects

Client: Shanghai PTArchitects

A' Design Award 金奖 Winner in 建筑 Category

23,578

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #116204

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Born With Legend 社区中心

"生而传奇"是位于中国徐州鼓楼区的一座社区中心。该建筑服务于周边缺乏公共配套设施的老旧小区。室内空间与室外场地构成两个矩形区域,并由一个弧形曲面加以衔接。圆角处理与白色搪瓷铝板使整体立面得以统一。入口处以伞形柱作为标志,其顶部覆以白色金属格栅,并配有一面实心玻璃砖墙。二层则由通高玻璃幕板围合而成。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 金奖

Born With Legend 社区中心是 A' Design Award 金奖得主，这是授予一流、绝妙而杰出设计的极为崇高的认可。金奖得主是极具创新、极富远见且璀璨夺目的创作，反映出其设计师的天才、智慧与才干。预计Born With Legend 社区中心将成为一项备受赞誉、引领潮流、气势恢宏的发明，带来前所未有的价值。这件赢得 A' Design Award 金奖的设计是一个壮观而受人敬重的项目，极大地造福并拓展艺术、科学、设计和技术的边界。Born With Legend 社区中心激起强烈的渴望，唤起激情，鼓励创造力，令我们着迷。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: The project is located in the Gulou District of Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. Built in 1938, Gulou is the oldest urban district in Xuzhou and still retains its historical and cultural importance amidst the current modern way of life. The community center lies next to the east side of the city center. Urban services cover the surrounding old neighborhoods, making up for the lack of public facilities in these historic communities. With the establishment of the community center, we hope to revive the neighborhood and reestablish communal connections.
Dimensions & Packaging: Site Area: 2237.92㎡
Floor Area: 751.57㎡
Tags: community Center, public facilities, visual landmark, white
Production Technology: To ensure that the community space remains accessible and that the building appears clean and clear, the façade is dominated by regular lineal elements. White enamel aluminum plates serve as the basic element unifying the various materials used throughout. The entrance is characterized by umbrella-shaped pillars topped with a grille made of white metal, forming a semi-enclosed space that connects the ground floor with the entrance, which further extends into the urban cityscape. The building itself uses curved aluminum plates as corners, rounding off the edges and establishing an overall frame for the architecture. The second story is enclosed by ceiling-high glass panels, whose reflection of its surrounding creates an echo of the nearby aluminum panels, giving off the effect of a monumental sculptural piece.
Design Challenge: As the main supportive facility serving the surrounding residential areas, the community center takes into consideration its function as both a physical space for public venues and as a visual landmark of the city.
Research: The entryway leads naturally through the gate into the garden, connecting the interior with the exterior, allowing for a sense of openness, integration, and community. The naturally curved lines found throughout the complex serves as a tribute to classical geometry.
Inspiration: The project creates an open space within a confined urban fabric while also meeting the architectural demarcation requirements of urban planning. The interior space and the exterior venue are divided into two distinct rectangular spaces but are joined together by a curved plane that forms between the two areas. This combined with the curvature introduced into the corners of the spaces creates a fixed and distinguished enclosure around the complex as a whole. The entire effect further allows for the rigidity of the complex to soften and expand. The public entryway is unified with the rest of the structure by the white metal grille placed above. The integrated organization of the linear elements forms simple shapes that produce rich effects of light and shadow, endowing the community center with various spatial experiences that are nevertheless part of a larger whole.
Project Duration: The project started in August 2019 and finished in May 2020 in Xuzhou, China
Operation Flow: The architect uses modern techniques to re-contextualize classical aesthetics. Traditional brick elements of the ancient city walls are introduced into the entryway. Using old procedures with new techniques, the entryway wall is made of solid glass bricks, improving the visibility and the recognizability of the space. Simultaneously, the light transmitted through the glass bricks allows for a translucent and inexpressible visual effect. With the addition of directional sunlight reflecting off the pool, a similar effect of light and shadow is produced on the walls of the building. The conscious effort to use fewer columns and beams in the interior creates an open, fluid, and luminous space within the community center.
Team Members: Shanghai PTArchitects
Image Credits: IMAGE by Yuan Yang