RTA-Office Designs Service Center for China's International Garden Expo

Written by Karissa Rosenfield

RTA-Office has been selected to design and construct China’s 10th International Garden Expo Service Center in Wuhan. The center will serve as the main entrance for pedestrian and public transportation visitors on the edge of the Fuhe River at the 214 hectare site’s north entrance.

The Expo, which will commence in 2015, is one of the largest garden events in China. It will take place within the grounds of the Zhang Gongdi forest park and occupy a vast landfill area, making the Expo’s realization a major ecological restoration project.

More from the architects, after the break.

RTA-Office Designs Service Center for China's International Garden Expo - Waterfront — Courtesy of RTA-Office

From the architects: The proposal consists on the master plan design for the plot, integrating a Commercial Street into the existing system of buildings planned for the Northern Entrance Scenic Area of the International Garden Expo: Exhibition Park, International Arts and Garden Center, and a 5-stars Hotel. It will include a current and a future scenario for the plot (taking into account the possible future lifecycle of the complex), where the Exhibition Garden will be converted into a New Residential Area and the Service Center for the Exhibition into a Commercial Street which will cover the needs of the future.

RTA-Office Designs Service Center for China's International Garden Expo - Facade, Windows — Courtesy of RTA-Office

Phase 1 (During China International Garden Expo):

During the International Garden Exhibition, the plot will contain an Exhibition Garden, a Hotel, the International Arts and Garden Center, designed by OMA, and a Service Center for the Exhibition, by RTA-Office.

For this period, the proposal focuses on the design of several buildings which will serve as Service Center for the China International Garden Expo, as well as in creating a connection between the main street and the lakeshore, through the creation of a scenic street that ends in an observation pier over the Jinying Lake.

Phase 2 (After the China International Garden Expo):

After the International Exhibition, the area of the Exhibition Garden is intended to be a new residential area; the International Arts and Garden Center will become the Wuhan Wedding Culture Center; and the Service Center will become a new Commercial Street. The Hotel will remain in the future scenario.

RTA-Office Designs Service Center for China's International Garden Expo - Windows, Facade — Courtesy of RTA-Office

The Service Center:

The complex is composed by single angular volumes harmoniously connected together. The strategy of the project is to design a building with a strong character and appearance. The commitment lies on being able to make a whole group to be understood aesthetically in a unitary way, and that at the same time resolves in a simple way the human scale.

Volumes are shaped in a meticulous way with cuts and cracks that act as entrances and windows to bring the natural light inside. The presence of water, terraces and enjoyable pathways offers a pleasant outdoor space offering a place of encounter and leisure.

Visitors’ involvement becomes a big part of the project. The accurate mixture of vegetation, water and architecture, offers unexpected spaces seeking to provoke intensive experiences, both inside the complex and outside.