Scenario’s &
Situations – A talk by Samuel Wong
13 September 2017
Black
Box, Publika
- graduate of University Technology Malaysia (UTM) in Bachelors in Architecture during 2006
- went his way through a lot of architecture practices and property developers in Malaysia, Singapore and China.
- working experience with RT+Q Architects.
- became a design manager for Capital Land’s Raffles city after joining Aedas, Shanghai.
When he became Design Manager for
CapitaLand’s Raffles City in Hangzhou, China for five years and before that, he
joined Aedas, Shanghai for a short period of time. Samuel was inspired by the
Chinese government for the effort in embracing sustainability and
higher-quality development, during the time where China economy just begin to
growth rapidly as well as their architecture. He also shared his seven years of
working experience in China and his major contributions for building one of the
ambitious landmarks for Hangzhou skyline.
Qianjiang River, Hangzhou has
developed a lot after20 years since 1995, one of the famous building was the picture above that represents THE SUN (日) and THE MOON (月) was developed to showed the
major changes og Hangzhou. Due to the richness, cultures and people population,
the developers decide to have Raffles City in Hangzhou.
Ben Van Berkel who designed Raffles City is situated near the Qiangtan
River in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, China. This Raffles City marks CapitaLand’s sixth
large-scale shopping centre, including those in Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing,
Chengdu and Bahrain. For UNStudio’s design, a sleek twisting tower will
provide residential and hotel accommodates in its 300,000-square meter
total floor area. The project aims to highlight the area and attract
visitors, “In the chain of events and attractions of Hangzhou, like the West
Lake area and the commercial centre, the Raffles City project will be at the core of the
Qianjiang New Town area and contribute to the recognition of this area as a new
destination in the city,” explained the architects.
The building programs are accommodating
the retail, restaurant, leisure facilities and parking and also connect to the
underground to the metro. The mixed-use functions to provide the users and
residents a positive environment to architecture and also actively makes the
movement of human flow around the clock creating a safe and lively interaction
for all the spaces.
In the center of the retail spine,
the organisations of open roofed entrance and the visual focus of the interior
gives the spark for the building. With the bamboo handrail designed to suits
the building’s curvilinear form, it winds the way around the podium as a
continuous ribbon providing a tactual sensation and natural contrast with
futuristic interior. The atrium was designed with a spiral of stacking layers,
creating a flow of connectivity and visual slight line between the spaces. The
voids that ascend through seven storeys of the atrium guides the visitors along
the wings that spans about 150 meters in each direction, and also the daylight
that go through the building from the void to the lowest floors, introducing
the outdoor quality to the podium interior. Visitors can always look up to the
towers from the main atrium, changing the view point from their position. The
fluid forms reflect the architectural outside merges with inside creating a
cohesive spatial experience.
“Raffles City Hangzhou will be a point of confluence, a hub for business
conduct and a new destination for visitors, and residents alike; an
‘all-in-one’ destination for working, living and leisure in a highly
sustainable environment.”
by Ben van Berkel
