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LINKED HYBRID

2009

Description +

PROGRAM: 644 apartments, public green space, commercial zones, hotel, cinemateque, kindergarten, Montessori school, underground parking.

CLIENT: Modern Green Development Co., Ltd. Beijing

SIZE: 2,383,797 sq ft

STATUS: Complete

The 220,000 square meter pedestrian-oriented Linked Hybrid complex, sited adjacent to the site of old city wall of Beijing, aims to counter the current privatized urban developments in China by creating a new twenty-first century porous urban space, inviting and open to the public from every side. Filmic urban public space; around, over and through multifaceted spatial layers, as well as the many passages through the project, make the Linked Hybrid an “open city within a city”. The project promotes interactive relations and encourages encounters in the public spaces that vary from commercial, residential, and educational to recreational. The entire complex is a three-dimensional urban space in which buildings on the ground, under the ground and over the ground are fused together.

The ground level offers a number of open passages for all people (residents and visitors) to walk through. These passages ensure a micro-urbanisms of small scale. Shops activate the urban space surrounding the large reflecting pond. On the intermediate level of the lower buildings, public roofs gardens offer tranquil green spaces, and at the top of the eight residential towers private roof gardens are connected to the penthouses. All public functions on the ground level, – including a restaurant, hotel, Montessori school, kindergarten, and cinema – have connections with the green spaces surrounding and penetrating the project. The elevator displaces like a “jump cut” to another series of passages on a higher levels. From the 12th to the 18th floor a multi-functional series of skybridges with a swimming pool, a fitness room, a café, a gallery, auditorium and a mini salon connects the eight residential towers and the hotel tower, and offers spectacular views over the unfolding city. Programmatically this loop aspires to be semi-lattice-like rather than simplistically linear. We hope the public sky-loop and the base-loop will constantly generate random relationships. They will function as social condensers resulting in a special experience of city life to both residents and visitors.

Geo-thermal wells (655 at 100 meters deep) provide Linked Hybrid with cooling in summer and heating in winter, and make it one of the largest green residential projects in the world.

Ecological Innovation +

LEED Gold
AIA New York Chapter Sustainable Design Merit Award (2008)

Features
– Geothermal heating & cooling (largest geothermal array in China, 2009; 660 wells 100m deep)
– System saves 2,110,000 degrees of energy usage / year
– Represents up to 80% of energy savings compared to conventional heating and cooling systems
– 1kW/h of power used renders 6.5 kW/h and 5.5kW/h of heating and cooling respectively.
– Radiant slab (for heating and colling) along with underfloor air distribution system reduce mechanical equipment sizing and energy consumption
– Site restauration from past industrial function
– Hybrid buildings combine living, working, culture & commerce
– Recycled grey water system connects all apartments to ultra-violet zap for clear central landscape pools
– Provides more green landscape to public than building footprint. A high-performance building envelope includes external shading systems that minimize solar heat gain and reduces overall cooling loads

Credits +

  • general contractor

    - Beijing Construction Engineering Group

  • architect

    - Steven Holl Architects

    Steven Holl, Li Hu (design architect)

    Li Hu (partner in charge)

    Hideki Hirahara (senior associate in charge)

    Yenling Chen (assistant project architect)

    Chris McVoy, Tim Bade (technical advisor)

    Garrick Ambrose, Yimei Chan, Rodolfo Dias, Gong Dong, Peter Englaender, Guido Guscianna, Young Jang, Edward Lalonde, JongSeo Lee, Richard Liu, James MacGillivray, Matthew Uselman (project designer)

    Jason Anderson, Lei Bao, Christian Beerli, Johnna Brazier, Cosimo Caggiula, Kefei Cai, Guanlan Cao, Shih-I Chow, Sofie Holm Christensen, Frank-Olivier Cottier, Christiane Deptolla, Mike Fung, M. Emran Hossain, Gyoung-Nam Kwon, Eric Li, Tz-Li Lin, Clark Manning, Maki Matsubayashi, Giorgos Mitroulias, Daijiro Nakayama, Olaf Schmidt, Judith Tse, Li Wang, Ariane Wiegner, Lan Wu, Noah Yaffe, Liang Zhao (project team)

  • structural engineer

    - Guy Nordenson and Associates

    - China Academy of Building Research

  • associate architects

    - Beijing Capital Engineering Architecture Design Co. LTD

  • mechanical engineer

    - Transsolar

    - Beijing Capital Engineering Architecture Design Co. LTD

    - Cosentini Associates

  • lighting consultant

    - L'Observatoire International

  • curtain wall consultant

    - Front Inc.

    - Xi’an Aircraft Industry Company LTD

    - Yuanda Curtain-wall

    - Jianghe

    - Xi-Fei

  • landscape architect

    - Steven Holl Architects

    - EDAW Beijing

    - TSLD

  • interior designer

    - Steven Holl Architects

    - China National Decoration Co., LTD

News +


  • 2019 10/08 AWARD: Linked Hybrid Tower was named as part of the 50 Most Influential Tall Buildings of the Last 50 Years which was announced at the 2019 CTBUH 10th World Congress
  • 2019 04/23 Linked Hybrid Wins 10 Year Award of Excellence at 2019 Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Awards
  • 2017 05/05 How Architects have Tried to Create ‘Streets in the Sky’
  • 2015 10/01 Portfolio: TRENDS features original sketches and drawings by the architecture greats
  • 2011 10/17 Design: City as Lab
  • 2008 06/08 The New, New City – Life in an Instant City
  • 2008 06/30 Forbidden Cities
  • 2008 08/01 From Mao to Wow!
  • 2009 06/01 Made in China
  • 2009 04/01 New Wonders of the World
  • 2009 09/01 Linked Hybrid, Beijing
  • 2010 01/01 Connected Living
  • 2008 06/01 Edifice Complex
  • 2006 10/01 Word of Mouth: Beijing
  • 2004 12/01 Steven Holl: Eight Towers and a Flying Ring
  • 2009 07/02 Linked Hybrid by Steven Holl Architects named 2009 “Best Tall Building” in Asia & Australia Category by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
  • 2009 10/26 Linked Hybrid by Steven Holl Architects named 2009 “Best Tall Building Overall” by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

Awards +


  • 2006 Popular Science Engineering Award for Largest Geothermal Housing Complex
  • 2008 AIA NEW YORK CHAPTER SUSTAINABLE DESIGN AWARD
  • 2009 CTBUH 2009 BEST TALL BUILDING IN ASIA AND AUSTRALIA
  • 2009 CTBUH 2009 BEST TALL BUILDING OVERALL
  • 2010 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD CHINA, "GOOD DESIGN IS GOOD BUSINESS" AWARD, BEST RESIDENTIAL PROJECT
  • 2019 CTBUH 2019 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE, 10 YEAR AWARD CATEGORY
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