Gemdale Xinshi Road Development Suzhou

PrizeShortlist in Build (architecture)
CompanyWoods Bagot
ArtistJean Weng
CategoryProfessional
Design TeamTao Wu, Lewen Liu
ClientGemdale Properties and Investment Co., Ltd.
CreditWoods Bagot

An 114,600 sqm of urban form that references the ancient Suzhou city’s classical gardens, ornate bridges and waterways to create a culturally enriched retail-entertainment destination, with typography that blends both architecture and landscape to offer visitors changing scenery as they move through the place. The double skinned façade represents garden walls, with 40% of the inner site opened up to provide a spectacular atrium bathed in natural sunlight, with dramatic setbacks and multiple height terraces and rooftop gardens which mirror the scales, ratios and traditional rhythms of Suzhou.