people's architecture office: river heights pavilion

people’s architecture office: river heights pavilion
image © people’s architecture office
all images courtesy of people’s architecture office (PAO)

in the rapidly growing heart of china’s shangxi province, people’s architecture office has designed river heights pavilion as a contrasting addition to their low density suburban housing development along the fen river in taiyuan. built on a tabula rasa, this orthogonal construction has a strong international style reference. shifting along the site’s topography, un ornamented bars of program slide past one another in a balanced organization, rather than a stacked tower like the nearby residences. inserted  gardens and courtyards balance the natural and constructed environment. the glass facade also incorporates the landscape as a backdrop of views from within. without any solid walls inside the pavilion, vistas framed by the structural elements extend throughout the building, such that  one’s view is always layered with other activities in the background.  this effect is continued by the exterior, which creates an transparent relationship with the user. the building serves as a community center and display house with model apartments, offices, exhibition spaces, lounge and cafe contained in a series of volumes that alternate between one and two stories along the rigid column grid. the hierarchy of spaces is understood in this undulation along the transverse section where the double height lobby welcomes guests, and in contrast, intimate meeting spaces are generally single height, allowing for a second floor of program and access to roof terraces.

built on a tabula rasa, the building is oriented parallel to the topography
image © people’s architecture office

bars of program slide past one another in a balanced composition
image © people’s architecture office

a garden punctuates the pavilion, balancing natural and constructed elements
image © people’s architecture office

a mix of single and double height spaces allow direct access to the roof terrace
image © people’s architecture office

double height reception area is uninterrupted; its openness caters to public function
image © people’s architecture office

without interior partitions, each view is layered with adjacent program
image© people’s architecture office

the lounge and bar look through the rception area to the offices and model apartments
image© people’s architecture office

main entrance
image© people’s architecture office

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project info:

client：river heights
location：taiyuan, shanxi province
total floor area: 1800 sqm
structure: concrete and steel
date of completion: december 2012
architectural, interior, and landscape design: people’s architecture office (PAO)
principal: hezhe, james shen, zangfeng
project team: zhang minghui, liu xiujuan, jennifer tran
photographer: people’s architecture office (PAO)