Hangzhou-R&F-Lifestyle-Aesthetics-Pavilion

Location: Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province
Gross Floor Area: 2,664 sqm
Design Firm: KDG
Design Year: 2018
Lead Architect: Qiu Kang

Design Concept
Nestled within the slender urban greenbelt between Wener Road and Xiwang Road, with a tranquil river at its rear, this project explores how to maximize exhibition space experience within constrained site conditions.

In a chaotic urban context, an exceptionally pure architectural form - with its 90-meter length, slender proportions, precise facades, and subtly illusionary materials - makes a striking statement, embodying "less is more."

Architectural Approach
The design investigates the relationship between architecture and site. While prioritizing architectural form, it maximizes the site experience through interdisciplinary solutions. Among various possibilities, we chose to make the building "float" above the landscape, creating continuous visual effects and ground-level visitor experiences.

This floating effect is achieved through:

Elevated ground floor

Strategic use of reflective materials
Creating an illusion where the landscape appears to flow beneath the structure, dramatically amplifying the spatial experience.

Holistic Design Language
The exhibition experience is fundamentally shaped by the building's form. The integrated design approach encompassing architecture, landscape, and interiors forms both the starting point and culmination of the project.

Key features:

Transparent facades seamlessly blend architecture, landscape and interiors into unified visual compositions

Open, unobstructed landscaping showcases the architecture

Minimalist white interiors naturally extend the architectural language

Spatial Relationships
Architecture continues the landscape

Landscape makes the architecture float

Architecture brings transparency indoors

Interiors open up the building

Visitor Experience
The pavilion creates a gallery-like discovery journey that communicates the project's core messages of technology, futurism, and sustainability. Avoiding overtly theatrical exhibition techniques and forced circulation paths, it employs simple, straightforward design vocabulary to infinitely amplify the visitor experience.

Material Innovation
The facade's "micro-illusionary" materials create ever-changing visual effects that respond to environmental conditions, further enhancing the floating quality while maintaining architectural purity.

This project demonstrates how disciplined architectural form-making can transform constrained urban sites into extraordinary spatial experiences.