Architecture Studies: Galaxy Soho, Beijing

Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects
Location: Soho, Beijing, China
Area: 332857.0 sqm
Building Height: 67m
Shaping: Parametric Building
Feature: Slicers
Program: Mixed used of Commercial / Industrial Office
Construction Year: 2012

This new release of the constructed Galaxy SOHO project in the central Benjing is a office, retail and entertainment complex. It become an integral part of the living city, inspired by then grand scale of Beijing.

Composition:
Five continuous flowing volumes that are set apart, fused and linked by stretched bridges.
These volumes adapt to each other in all directions, generating a panoramic architecture without corners or abrupt transitions that break the fluidity of its formal composition.

Full of imagination and surrealism, the unique design concept makes Galaxy SOHO a new architectural landmark in Beijing on par with the Bird's Nest National Stadium and the CCTV Tower.

Interpretation of Nature

the concept of the design is inspired by the ancient Chinese terraced rice field. Derived from nature., parametric design is the synthesis of contemporary digital technology and the natural landscape. The multiple flowing plateaus act as a rice field in the mountains, connecting various volumes and forming an urban landscape.

The great interior courts of the project are a reflection of traditional Chinese architecture where courtyards create an internal world of continuous open spaces.

The architecture is no longer composed of rigid blocks, but instead comprised of volumes which incorporate to create a world of continuous mutual adaptation and fluid movement between each building.

360 degree view
The architectural approach for this project is to create an ensemble of individual volumes that blend together to create a more monumental whole. The separate volumes have their own atrium and cores, but merge together at various levels, providing shaded outdoor plateaus and internal spaces with dramatic views.

Shifting plateaus shift multiple levels into each other's view forming within the design impact upon each other, to generate a deep sense of immersion and envelopment within an environment of stimulation. The architecture unfolds below, above, and into layers in all directions with a logic of continuity and multilevel curve-linearity. It is a 360-degree architectural world which has no corners, no disrupted transitions, but in which everything evolves — very much inspired by nature.

As users enter deeper into the building, they discover intimate spaces that follow the same coherent formal logic of continuous curve-linearity.

The project is comprised of deep vistas that are formulated by hundreds of meter of interests in all directions. The strategy here is to create a space of easy flow and easy orientation. One discovers an interplay of light and shadow and of closed and open space while moving within the volumes.

The lower three levels of Galaxy SOHO house public facilities for retail and entertainment. The levels immediately above provide work spaces for clusters of innovative businesses. The top of the building is dedicated to bars, restaurants and cafés that offer views along one of the greatest avenues of the city. These different functions are interconnected through intimate interiors that are always linked with the city, helping to establish Galaxy SOHO as a major urban landmark for Beijing.