lacime architects cover exhibition hall with undulating façade in suzhou, china

lacime architects has designed the new xiangcheng district planning exhibition hall in the city of suzhou in china. the site is located in the east of suzhou north railway station making it a visible landmark to the billions of passengers who flow through the railway station every year. suzhou has a reputation of having the most majestic scenery and architecture in southeast china, therefore the architect has aimed to design a simple yet powerful form to complement the unique site location.

the façades of the new exhibition hall are essential to the overall design by lacime architects with the most notable characteristic being the elegant and dynamic effect of the façade which appears as a ‘rising curtain.’  the shape of the outer appearance of the building is in fact inspired by a musical instrument called the marimba. to create this effect, the outer curtain wall of the façade is composed of vertical components which allow this form to be produced. 

the height of the building is particularly important to the overall design as it is designed to be in line with those on the high-speed rail. as for the landscape, the architect incorporates pools of water to reflect the building and the elegant curved profiles of the façades. the concept by lacime architects is to design a building that becomes a new landmark and visual focus, and with this elegant exterior the new exhibition hall achieves this goal.

project info:

location: east of suzhou north railway station, nantiancheng road, suzhou

client: futureland group

architect: lacime architects

interior design: g-art design

general architect: cheng hu

interior general architect: huang quan

design team: kong dezhen, jin zhihao

occupied area: 11700㎡

building area: 6030㎡

design time: 2016.12 – 2017.06

completion: 2017.11

photography: su shengliang, zhang qilin

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom