by: Gregory Haley AIA AICP LEED AP
Haley recently talked with Li Hu, partner of Steven Holl Architects and director of its Beijing office, in search of a perspective on challenges many other NY-based firms face as they develop projects in China.
Event: Interview with Li Hu — Partner, & Tour with Hideki Hirahara, Associate, Steven Holl Architects
Location: Offices of Steven Holl Architects, New York and Beijing 9.17.07 & 10.15.07
Linked Hybrid under construction in Beijing.
Annique Fung
With four major commissions in design and under construction in China, NY-based Steven Holl Architects (SHA) has jumped full force into the maelstrom of China’s rapid urbanization. Amidst the web of regulatory, environmental, and cultural forces reshaping China’s cities, SHA is faced with building new contexts integrated with existing neighborhoods.
With the recent onset of speculative development in cities such as Beijing, building regulations are constantly evolving, making each new building a “product of a specific moment in history,” explains SHA partner Li Hu. For example, modifications to zoning requirements that stipulate maximum apartment size would preclude approval of projects currently under construction. As a result, to avoid “getting stuck,” the design process must move quickly with a focus on “big urban concepts.”
Another challenge is environmental decay accompanying China’s urbanization, for which SHA has adopted several sustainable approaches. Linked Hybrid in Beijing integrates geo-thermal wells, green roofs, solar shading, and gray water recycling, while the Vanke Center in Shenzen is slated to be the first LEED Platinum building in China. “It is not easy to do a LEED building at this scale,” admits Li Hu, but they are “lucky to have good clients” who support these goals.
When it comes to urban context, every project starts with the site and an understanding of the city. But in cities such as Beijing, where the traditional urban fabric is rapidly disappearing, what is the definition of context? It is mostly “a tabula rasa,” argues Li Hu, and the challenge is “to set a new example for buildings in this new higher-density, high-rise context.” Linked Hybrid — a mixed-use housing complex conceived as “a city within a city” — aims to set this example, in addition to housing 2,500 residents. The project integrates a multi-leveled series of public and commercial programs that serve everyday needs from shopping and recreation to entertainment and social gatherings. The “porosity” of points along the perimeter and the active ground level uses links up with existing street life; the cinema and hotel in the central space spur residents to mingle with neighboring communities. In contrast to Beijing’s many introverted gated developments, the ultimate goal for Linked Hybrid is “to make great urban space that is not isolated but connected.”
Gregory Haley, AIA, AICP, LEED AP, is a project architect and urban designer at Studio V Architecture, and has taught at the Boston Architectural Center and NYIT School of Architecture.