Opening 2012 Opened 2012 | Completed 2012 Floor area 3,336,812 sf Construction started 2008 | |
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Structural engineer China Academy of Building Research | ||
Sliced Porosity Block - CapitaLand Raffles City Chengdu is a building complex built in Chengdu, China designed by Steven Holl Architects. It was built from 2008 to 2012. It celebrated its topping out in October 2011 at 123 meters.
Contents
Sliced Porosity Block consists of 5 mixed-use towers with offices, apartments, retail and a hotel, which surround a large public plaza. The design is shaped to give the surrounding residential neighborhood enough daylight during the day. The angles of the sun prescribe the shape of the towers. The structure is an exoskeletal concrete frame.
Pavilions
Three large voids are cut into the towers as the sites of the History Pavilion, designed by Steven Holl Architects, the Light Pavilion by Lebbeus Woods, and the Local Art Pavilion.
The History Pavilion marks the site of the original Sichuan Provincial Museum in 1941. Set into a void in north elevation it overlooks the plaza of the three valleys and pools.The architectural language of the History Pavilion is planar and in shadows, in contrast to the architecture of the Light Pavilion, which is linear and glowing. The History Pavilion is constructed of weathering steel, with an interior of natural perforated locally harvested bamboo.
The Light Pavilion is designed as an experimental space, giving visitors the opportunity to experience a type of space they haven’t experienced before. The structural columns articulating the Pavilion’s interior spaces support stairs and viewing platforms. They are illuminated from within, creating a luminous space. This quality is amplified by the mirrored surfaces enclosing the Pavilion, which visually extend its spaces infinitely. From within the buildings, and from the large public plaza, the glowing structure radiates changing color symbolizing different holidays and times of day, month and year.
Sustainable Aspects
The Sliced Porosity Block is heated and cooled with 468 geothermal wells and the large ponds in the plaza harvest recycled rainwater, while the natural grasses and lily pads create a natural cooling effect. High-performance glazing, energy-efficient equipment and the use of regional materials are among the other methods employed to reach the LEED Gold rating.