As the new central form of the main administration building of the City of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, the Congress Centre resembles a large precious stone.

The Zhejiang Province is known for its tea-producing region. To express the building’s regional characteristics, the design of the façade is based on the superimposed configurations of the tea cultivation pathways and the planting nets. As a result, the building is enveloped by a multi-layered fabric, giving it a true architectural plasticity. Seen from a distance, the façade appears like a rigid volume but dissolves into a network of structures and levels on approach.

The translation or incorporation of regional characteristics in the appearance of the building aims to promote the identification of Hangzhou residents with their city government.

Client: Hangzhou Municipal Government
Project partner: DBH Stadtplanungs GmbH, Hangzhou
General Planning Civic Center: TJADRI (Architectural Design & Research Institute of Tongji University (Group) Co. Ltd.)
Fotos: Jan Siefke