中文

 Steven Holl Architects

SLICED POROSITY BLOCK – RAFFLES CITY CHENGDU

Chengdu, China. 2012

Description +

PROGRAM: five towers with offices, serviced apartments, retail, a hotel, cafes, and restaurants, and large urban public plaza

CLIENT: CapitaLand Development

SIZE: 3,336,812 sq ft

STATUS: Complete

In the center of Chengdu, China, at the intersection of the first Ring Road and Ren Ming Nam Road, the Sliced Porosity Block forms large public plazas with a hybrid of different functions. Creating a metropolitan public space instead of object-icon skyscrapers, this three million square foot project takes its shape from its distribution of natural light. The required minimum sunlight exposures to the surrounding urban fabric prescribe precise geometric angles that slice the exoskeletal concrete frame of the structure. The building structure is white concrete organized in six foot high openings with earthquake diagonals as required while the “sliced” sections are glass.

The large public space framed in the center of the block is formed into three valleys inspired by a poem of the city’s greatest poet, Du Fu (713-770), who wrote, ‘From the northeast storm-tossed to the southwest, time has left stranded in Three Valleys.’ The three plaza levels feature water gardens based on concepts of time—the Fountain of the Chinese Calendar Year, Fountain of Twelve Months, and Fountain of Thirty Days. These three ponds function as skylights to the six-story shopping precinct below.

Establishing human scale in this metropolitan rectangle is achieved through the concept of “micro urbanism,” with double-fronted shops open to the street as well as the shopping center. Three large openings are sculpted into the mass of the towers as the sites of the pavilion of history, designed by Steven Holl Architects, the Light Pavilion by Lebbeus Woods, and the Local Art Pavilion.

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.

Ecological Innovation +

LEED Gold
Green GOOD DESIGN Award (2014)
Geothermal heating & cooling (455 wells, 90m deep)
Thermal storage for cooling in peak energy costs periods
Underfloor air distribution system reduce mechanical equipment sizing and energy consumption
Thermal mass provided by exterior cast-in-place concrete facades
Recycled grey water system
Hybrid buildings combine living, working, culture & commerce
Enhanced public / open space (12,000m2 landscaped public plaza provided)
Natural light and ventilation for all spaces
Reduced heat island effect with high albedo landscape materials and green roofs

Videos +

  • Sliced Porosity Block - A Conversation with Steven Holl
  • Sliced Porosity Block

Credits +

  • architect

    - Steven Holl Architects

    Steven Holl (design architect, principal)

    Li Hu (design architect, partner)

    Roberto Bannura (associate in charge)

    Lan Wu (project architect, Beijing)

    Haiko Cornelissen, Peter Englaender, JongSeo Lee (project architect, New York)

    Christiane Deptolla, Inge Goudsmit, Jackie Luk, Maki Matsubayashi, Sarah Nichols, Manta Weihermann, Martin Zimmerli (project designer)

    Justin Allen, Jason Anderson, Francesco Bartolozzi, Guanlan Cao, Yimei Chan, Sofie Holm Christensen, Esin Erez, Ayat Fadaifard, Mingcheng Fu, Forrest Fulton, Runar Halldorsson, M. Emran Hossain, Joseph Kan, Suping Li, Tz-Li Lin, Yan Liu, Daijiro Nakayama, Pietro Peyron, Roberto Requejo, Elena Rojas-Danielsen, Michael Rusch, Ida Sze, Filipe Taboada, Ebbie Wisecarver, Human Tieliu Wu, Jin-Ling Yu (project team)

  • associate architects

    - China Academy of Building Research

    Xue Ming, Wang Zhenming, Lu Yan (project team)

  • MEP and fire engineer

    - Ove Arup & Partners

  • M & E engineer

    - Ove Arup & Partners

    Oliver Kwong (M & E manager)

    Mini Sun (senior mechanical engineer)

    Alba Xu (senior electrical engineer)

  • LEED consultant

    - Ove Arup & Partners

  • sustainability concept consultant

    - Transsolar

  • structural engineer

    - China Academy of Building Research

    Liu Junjin, Zhu Huosheng (senior engineer)

  • fire technical consultant

    - Ove Arup & Partners

    Mingchun Luo (director fire performance)

    Gou Dagang (specialist fire performance)

  • international lighting consultant

    - L'Observatoire International

  • local lighting consultant

    - LDPi

  • traffic consultant

    - MVA

    Michael Chiu (director)

    Kent Liang (project manager)

    - MVA Hong Kong ltd

  • quantity surveyor

    - Davis Langdon & Seah (DLS)

    Hu Ping, Sun Ying (deputy manager)

News +

Awards +

  • 2013 AIA NY MERIT AWARD
  • 2013 ARCHITIZER A+ AWARD JURY WINNER
  • 2013 2013 EMIRATES GLASS LEAF AWARD: MIXED-USE BUILDING OF THE YEAR
  • 2013 2013 ANNUAL DESIGN REVIEW AWARD
  • 2014 2014 GREEN GOOD DESIGN AWARD
  • 2014 THE INTERNATIONAL HIGHRISE AWARD 2014 FINALIST
  • 2016 2015 CEDA NATIONAL AWARD IN ARCHITECTURE
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