Located on the side of the hill within the Hong'en Temple Forest Park, the Chongqing Greenland Clubhouse comprises two storeys, which include a boxy lower level with transparent glass walls and a more sculptural upper level clad with zinc.

The sloping ground allowed PURE Design to add entrances on both levels of the building. On the lower floor, visitors arrive at a reception area for the sales centre and offices, while the upper entrance leads into an exhibition gallery.

A river runs past the south elevation, so walls are glazed on both levels to afford views out across the water towards the city skyline.

A spiral staircases connects the levels, plus the lowest floor opens out to a patio seating area on the east side of the building.

The building will initially function as a sales centre for the Chongqing Greenland Real Estate Development Company, but could be converted for use as a restaurant and clubhouse in the future.

Construction in and around China has led to the construction of a number of new showrooms for property developers that we've reported on, including an extremely pointy pavilion in Tianjin and a building with a rampart-like facade in Singapore.

See more new architecture in China, including a 300-room hotel in one of the country's oldest cities.

Photography is by Shu He.

Here's a project description from PURE Design:

The clubhouse is located halfway up the south side of the mountain in Hong'en Temple Forest Park, Chongqing, facing the Jialing River. It is one of twenty-three commercial buildings, initially used as a real estate sales centre for the Greenland Bund Center project. Designed as a medium for dialogue between the river and mountain, the spatial experience through the building reflects the unique qualities of the dynamic terrain.

Due to the one storey height difference between the mountainside entrance and the terrace overlooking the river, the building is composed of two floors. The second level consists of the main entrance, and is primarily used as the real estate exhibition space, containing multimedia presentations and a river view experience. The first floor functions as a sales centre, containing models of the properties and sales spaces. It is also connected to the model homes.

In terms of architecture, the form of the first level is conceived from a glass box, pristine and sturdy. On the second level, the side facing the mountain utilizes stretched triangular shapes to create an undulating contour line, echoing the silhouette of the mountains. Additionally, the heavy gray colour of the external zinc cladding integrates the architecture with the city. In contrast, the surface facing the river is tranquil and lithe, reminiscent of a crystal case; its translucency presents little disturbance to the river scenery while allowing a complete view of the river from the interior of the building. On this basis, the visitor is led on a winding path containing seven different experiences from the second floor entrance to the first floor terrace. Let each visitor experience the beauty of the medium between the site and its surroundings, composed of an infinity pool, river, triangular form, courtyard, and crystal case.

Above: exploded axonometric diagram

Project: Chongqing Greenland Clubhouse
Location: Chongqing, China
Completion: September 2012
Area: 1100m2
Client: Chongqing Greenland Real Estate Development Co.
Design Firm: PURE Design LLC.
Structural Engineer: Shanghai Baoye Construction Group Corp.
Landscape Design: Collective Landscape Design LLC.
Interior Design: MoHen Design International

Above: site plan - click for larger image

Above: lower level plan - click for larger image

Above: upper level plan - click for larger image

Above: long section - click for larger image

Above: cross section - click for larger image

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by PURE Design appeared first on Dezeen.

Beijing architects MAD have designed a skyscraper for Chongqing, China, with gardens at each level.

Rather than consider the project vertically, the architects envisage a stack of floors, each slice shifted horizontally to create spaces for gardens and patios.

The 385 metre-high building will be called Urban Forest.

Here's some text from MAD:

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Urban Forest

By the end of 2009, MAD has completed the concept design of a 385 meter high metropolitan cultural complex in the city center of Chongqing - The Urban Forest.

This is the third skyscraper designed by MAD following the Absolute Towers in Toronto and the Sinosteel International Plaza in Tianjin, China.

MAD proposes a new architectural concept for the course of Chinese urban development - to actualize a sustainable multidimensional high-rise within China’s youngest municipality, where nature reincorporates into the high-density urban environment in the near future, to evoke the affection for nature once lost in the oriental ancient world and bring to the modern city dwellers.

In the year of 1997, Chongqing became the fourth direct municipality in China.

As an important pole of the growing economy in western China, the city area of Chongqing is more than twice of those of Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin combined.

Such macro-scale urbanization should not only pushes economic growth and material prosperity, but also foster the evolution of the city’s cultural essence. Chinese cities have gone through the process of once starting from nothing, to following contemporary Western civilization urban pattern. Now, the overall economic infrastructure has oriented the direction of future development towards inland China.

What lies in the future of cities? How should one grasp the concept of emerging high-density cities of China in the context of a scenic town such as Chongqing? How does one discuss the future of architecture in Chinese cities on the base of Eastern Naturalist perspective and in the new context of China’s unique economic, social environment and globalization background? How to engage the city dwellers with an experience of nature when its presence of steadily diminishes in the face of the ever intensifying concrete jungle.

Throughout the process of contemporary Western urbanization, skyscrapers were the symbol of technological competitions, prime capitals and the formal enslavement of the powerful and the rich. Sustainable ecology became more of a demand for comfort; while the yearning of a return to nature was left ignored. The Urban Forest draws inspiration from the perspective of nature and the man-made in Eastern Philosophy, and ties the urban city life with the natural outdoor experiences.

The shape of the architecture mimics mountain range, shifting in a dynamic and yet holistic rhythm, and becomes a continuation of nature. Unlike its preceding counterparts, The Urban Forest no longer emphasizes on vertical force, instead it concentrates on the multidimensional relationships within complex anthropomorphic spaces: multilayer sky gardens, floating patios and minimal and yet well lit nesting spaces, the architectural form dissolves into the fluid spatial movements between air, wind, and light. In this environment, people encounter nature filled with unexpected surprises.

The fusion between Eastern humanism spirit and urban public spaces pioneers in the making of a sustainable multidimensional city - The Urban Forest will not be a piece of mediocre urban machinery, but an artificial organ that lives and breathes new life in the steel-and-concrete-filled city center.

Chongqing, the youngest municipality in China, holds great potential in its urban planning and construction and has the capability to be built into a most livable city, a city of pleasant environments, a traffic-jam-free city, even into a city that runs into a complete urban forest. A city with aspiration and vitality shall be courageous in envisioning and designing its great future. - Bo Xilai (Mayor of Chongqing)

In October 2009, The Urban Forest from MAD debuted in the Heart-Made, Europalia exhibition at the 2009 Europalia China. It represents the most challenging dream of the contemporary Chinese architecture --- a type of urban landmark that rises from the affection for nature. It is no longer a static icon but an organic form that changes all the time with people’s perception.

Director in Charge: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun
Design Team: Yu Kui, Diego Perez, Zhao Wei, Chie Fuyuki, Fu Changrui, Jtravis B Russett, Dai Pu, Irmgard Reiter, Rasmus Palmqvist, Qin Lichao, Xie Xinyu

Location: Chongqing, China
Typology: Commercial, Office, Hotel
Site Area: 7,700 sqm
Building Area: 216,000 sqm
Building Height: 385 m
Architectural Design: MAD Ltd
Structural Design: ARUP Group Ltd

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