organic river forms prompt the design of tanghua architects' exhibition center in china

Tanghua Architects’ design is informed by its natural setting

Tanghua Architects designs the Planning Exhibition Center of Liangjiang Collaborative Innovation Zone, located on a cliff site along Mingyue Lake and its surrounding ecological belt in Chongqing, China. The plot lies on a hillock enveloped in a natural environment far from municipal roads and overlooks Longxing Ancient Town.

The team adopts an approach that disperses the required functions across the landscape avoiding an overwhelmingly huge structure on top of the small hillock. The Circular Hall serves as the reception, exhibition, communication space, office, and the main common living area of the Innovation Zone. Its functional boundaries are flexible, and it enjoys a rich natural setting. The visiting circulation starts from a bamboo forest at Yuanqu Road. As nature gradually gives way to the manmade landscape, more scenery is unveiled along the circulation.

The first floor of the main building consists of an exhibition hall that showcases the master plan models of the Innovation Zone. The building presents a perfect circle plan, whilst its varying roof heights indicate internal programmatic divisions. The building is a formal representation of Jialing River and Yangtze River, perched on one side of the hillock and adopting the form of a stilted structure that is local to the Chongqing region. Adjacent to a cliff, the office area, meeting room, and café are located below the round hall, offering stunning views of an open lake.

all images by MMCM Studio, RudyDong

the shape of the rivers’ confluence guides the formal structure

To avoid abrupt transitions between these areas and the main exhibition hall, the design encourages visitors to explore the surrounding scenery as they move between indoor spaces. Additionally, a vertical cylindrical structure provides vital support for efficient access and service circulation throughout the building. The architectural team leverages a sectional design approach to form a building in the shape of a vertical garden. The refined functions and design fully integrate the building with the surrounding landscape establishing a deeper relationship between the main exhibition hall and the intricacies of the architectural form.

The intersection of Jialing River and Yangtze River stands as Chongqing’s most recognizable icon. The architects incorporated the shape of confluence into the building’s design as the guiding formal structure. The form overlaps with the circular plan of the main hall with varying roof heights signifying three distinct internal zones, a high-ceilinged exhibition area, a mountain-shaped exhibition platform, and an exhibition wall area. Rather than a conventional dedicated area for the scaled urban development model on the floor, the design team conceives a 17-meter-high exhibition wall to showcase the master plan of Liangjiang New Area vertically. Through the long, narrow window of the exhibition hall, visitors can observe the undulating mountains of the New Area. The visual language of the ‘flowing rivers’ defines the spatial expression of the main exhibition hall and the vertical structure of the entire building.

the plot lies on a hillock enveloped in a natural environment

the interior generates a multi-layered spatial experience

The facade design is generated by the form of the two-river-confluence. The building blends into the natural surroundings in a sculptural form. Fair-faced concrete panels are used as the primary material for the facades, creating a consistent architectural image with a rustic texture. To reduce the visual effect of surface panelization, vertical grooves and rough textures are added to the surface of the panels, to integrate the vertical gaps. The horizontal gaps are set at 30 millimeters wide, which enhances the visual expression of the facade. The facade panels application improves construction efficiency and creates a simple and unified texture that accentuates the architectural form.

The visitors’ circulation creates spatial rhythms in the context of the rich surrounding landscape. A narrow path through the towering bamboo forest leads to the entrance of the planning exhibition center. This experience acts as the prelude to the expansive view of Mingyue Lake. Upon reaching the entrance of the exhibition center via a leading bridge, visitors pass through a small private gate to the 19-meter-high exhibition hall. After visiting the main exhibition hall, the path along the stairway concludes on an open rooftop terrace.

the building’s varying roof heights indicate internal programmatic divisions

The alternating sense of compression and expansion, looseness and density, creates distinct layers to the visitors’ spatial experience in a confined site. Perched on the southern hilltop, the building takes on the form of a traditional stilted structure, leaning against the hill, forming interior spaces and viewing platforms at different altitudes. The shape of the hill is also integrated into the building’s design, resulting in a multi-leveled space. The rooftop terrace is connected to a walking trail on the hilltop serving as part of a larger landscape system.

fair-faced concrete panels are used as the primary material for the facades

the panels create a simple and unified texture that accentuates the architectural form

the rooftop terrace is connected to a walking trail on the hilltop as part of a larger landscape system

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project info:

name: The Planning Exhibition Center of Liangjiang Collaborative Innovation Zone
designer: Tanghua Architects | @tanghua_architects

location: Chongqing, China

photography: MMCM Studio, RudyDong

lead architect: Tang Hua

design team: Dai Qiong, Zheng Qing, Wang Pengfu, Yang Yuan, Yan Peiqi, Tang Mengchan, Liu Huawei, Zheng Chenxi, Wang Tianhao

landscape design: Yimu Qianjue Landscape Design Co., Ltd.