Aedas Creates an Immersive Cultural Experience in Xiangyang, China

Written by Christele Harrouk
Published on May 12, 2020

Aedas has released images of the new Xiangyang Overseas Chinese Town Cultural & Tourism Development Area Joy Town. Expected to be completed in 2022, the project, located in the Ecological and Cultural Tourism Department in western Hubei, “will provide citizens and visitors with a unique and culturally immersive Xiangyang experience”.

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Combining the cultural and historical value of Xiangyang's ancient piers, the development aims to create an immersive festive space. Surrounded by residential and hospitality spaces, as well as transportation networks and the waterfront, the project’s site is divided by a major traffic artery. The northern plot, will encompass courtyard offices, commercial and cultural space, to be developed first and the southern plot, will hold luxury hotels, lavish clubhouses and dining space, and other upmarket facilities, to be built second.

We envisioned Joy Town as a place where there are always unexpected visual sensory experiences. Waterscape and streets create a traditionally-inspired village streetscape, and a three-dimensional design plan allows you to step onto rooftops and explore unpaved paths. We wanted to allow people to experience the lost city of Xiangyang through its distinct environmental elements. -- Keven Wang, Global Design Director of Aedas.

The design, based on material, shape, and layout, generates a particular visual result. Merging traditional and contemporary building materials and techniques, the façade produces a dramatic effect. Moreover, inspired by the silhouette of Xiangyang's traditional sloping houses, slanted frames are incorporated into the building's facade as the entrance to retail stores, commercial displays, and terraces. The abstract sloping roofs create a staggering visual effect that unifies the overall structure.

Capturing the traditional town through visual language, spatial scale, and spatial relationship, Aedas created a development that reinterprets streets and alleyways. The main street is situated on the west to exploit the wider and open view, while a second narrower street is situated on the east. “The lower floor will comprise of food and snack stalls while the second floor will connect to the main street and commercial and office space on the northerly through a connecting corridor”.

Program wise, office spaces are arranged in courtyard-style groups, each with a drop-off area to facilitate the flow of people and traffic. Actually, “the design positions office spaces with the low pedestrian flow in the detached commercial building on the north, and positions commercial space with the high pedestrian flow on the southern part of the site”.

Surrounded by water, the development also strategically incorporates environmentally-friendly practices to develop a "Sponge City". Along with purifying water through soil infiltration, the project prioritizes natural infiltration, landscape water storage belts, and local permeable paving.