Cloud Valley Hub
CLOUD VALLEY HUB
Studio Woodroffe Papa
ARCHITECTS
Studio Woodroffe Papa
LANDSCAPING CONSULTANT
AECOM
LOCAL DESIGN INSTITUTE
Ningbo Institute of Architecture and Urban Design Ltd Zheji
PHOTOGRAPHS
Lei Sun
AREA
5000 m²
YEAR
2021
LOCATION
Tai Zhou Shi, China
CATEGORY
Mixed Use Architecture, Office Buildings
Text description provided by architect.
Cloud Valley Hub is a mixed-use scheme comprising meeting rooms, exhibition space, retail, offices and amenities.
The building is located in the heart of Cloud Valley, a new e-commerce district on the outskirts of Ningbo.
The building’s initial role was to market and promote the Cloud Valley district, signifying the start of development while expressing the spirit of a new emerging economy.
Due to the challenging site conditions, Studio Woodroffe Papa raised the meeting rooms and exhibitions spaces off the ground, connected by a ring of circulation around a central courtyard.
On the ground floor, retail, restaurants and amenities are arranged as a series of pavilions that populate an urban landscape with gardens and plazas where people can meet and interact.
Studio Woodroffe Papa proposed this arrangement to challenge, in a playful way, typical notions of Chinese object making and use of public space.
The distinction between inside and outside is blurred and a multi-levelled landscape with different sized plazas, courtyards, terraces diversifies the social and circulation spaces.
The material expression of the building enhances these differences further: the two lower levels are clad in dark metal profile. Above, the continuous floor to ceiling glazing and silver profile metal suggest a hovering ‘cloud’.
The combination of built form and open space fosters a feeling of community and enhances the user experience.
The creation of a hard landscape across the site with pockets of soft, green spaces embedded in the surface sets up a flexible environment where visitors can gather for formal and informal events.
The landscape uses natural materials – timber decking and natural stone – that will change in appearance over time.
