four perforated volumes make aoe's shuifa info town property exhibition center in china

aoe has arranged four volumes clad in white perforated panels into shuifa info town property exhibition center in jinan, china. located in the changqing economic development zone, 20 kilometers away from the city center of jinan, the building is designed to host residential sales expos, property expos, and offices. its main structure comprises the four, slightly-tilted volumes, which, at night, glow with elegant cultural motifs.all images by vincent wu/ sensor images

in order to provide visitors to shuifa info town property exhibition center with the best experience, aoe decided to isolate the site from the surrounding environment, which comprises a messy mix of high-voltage line towers dotting weed-strewn farmland. for the building’s design concept, the chinese architecture studio drew from poet wang wei’s verse from ‘mountain dwelling in autumn’: ‘rain passes in the pristine mountain, refreshing autumn evening. moon shines among the pine, clear spring flows on stones’. as such, the four ‘stones’ of the building create a composition of ‘a stream of clear spring water flowing from the cracks in the rocks,’ as aoe describes it.

the main structure of the building is assembled out of white perforated panels, while the northern boundary is designed like a mountain waterfall, combined with green micro-topography. the main entrance and square are located on the west side, surrounded by geometrical hills designed to eliminate the visual impact of the messy surrounding environment. the building is enveloped in a layer of perforated plating, forming a relatively enclosed space.

inside, sections of the curtain wall are slanted, nestled, and interlaced, and the gap between the sections naturally forms the entrance of the building. the interior of the building is encased in the white perforated plating, and as night falls, light shines through the perforated plates to make the whole building glow. the density of the perforation of the plate gradually changes from top to bottom according to the function taking place inside.

the density of perforation is higher for more transparency in the first and second floors, which feature the display areas. contrary, the number of perforation is lower on the third and fourth floors, which house offices. aoe has inserted a large, four-story atrium in the center of the building, which serves as a sandbox area and becomes the focal point of the entire space. the two connecting bridges above the atrium enliven the space between the different floors, while the mirrored stainless steel skin reflects the entire space as if floating in the air.