jacques ferrier + sensual city studio bring greenery to shanghai's busiest intersection

jacques ferrier architecture has teamed up with sensual city studio to complete an ‘urban oasis’ at shanghai’s busiest intersection. located in xujiahui, a bustling commercial district, ‘T20’ is a mixed-use scheme that combines office, civic, commercial, and cultural space, as well as elevated pedestrian walkways. the scheme was seen by the design team as a chance to reassess the existing urban fabric by exploring ways in which the project could become a generous catalyst for the wider environment.

all images by luc boegly

through extensive analysis, jacques ferrier, founder of jacques ferrier architecture, and pauline marchetti, co-founder of sensual city studio, identified the need for enhanced pedestrian connectivity at the intersection and incorporated this into the building’s car park. the intervention creates raised and planted walkways which lift pedestrians eight meters (26 feet) above the crossroads to provide more logical and enjoyable connectivity between city landmarks such as the nearby church and park.

the project includes two levels of subterranean commercial space, one of which is connected to neighboring metro city building by an underground gallery. floors 1 and 2 house several hundred square meters of community spaces, while floors 3 to 7 contain the public car park, which unfolds in the form of a continuous spiral, serving the offices and businesses of the district. the car park has been designed as a ‘lush urban oasis’ with a hanging garden that is visible from key public spaces.

by bringing nature into even this most densely populated area, the design team seeks to counteract some of the inevitable pollution. above, the 8th and 9th floors are shared office space arranged around a large raised garden, and house a reception for visitors, cafeteria, meeting rooms, auditorium, and spaces for relaxation. levels 10 to 15 have been developed as office floors with the top two storeys home to the cultural center.

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project info:

location: shanghai, china
architects: jacques ferrier architecture (JFA) with sensual city studio (SCS)
client: shanghai xujiahui commercial real estate development co, ltd.
area: 20,000 sqm / 215,278 sqf
use: commercial