MAD, led by Ma Yansong, released the design of the Jiaxing Citizen Center (Jiaxing Nanhu Future Plaza). This is another important public project designed by MAD for Jiaxing after the railway station in the forest.

Jiaxing Civic Center is adjacent to Nanhu Lake and is located on the central axis of Jiaxing City. It enjoys a beautiful Jiangnan waterscape and lush vegetation. Next to it is the Haiyantang water system and the largest park in the city, Central Park.

The plot is nearly 130,000 square meters, including three venues: Science and Technology Museum, Women and Children Activity Center, and Youth Activity Center, with a total construction area of ​​180,000 square meters and a ground area of ​​72,000 square meters.

"For a civic center, the first thing that matters is that it has an attractive place, a place where children, young people, the elderly, and families can come every day and on weekends. We created an undulating ring, which is the garden living room and embrace of the city."

— Ma Yansong

Jiaxing Citizen Center (left), Matisse's work "Dancing" (right)

MAD designed a landscape building in a park. With the central circular lawn as the center, people and buildings interact and share here, making it a new urban space that is more open, friendly, and dynamic. The three venues are connected "hand in hand" and enclosed by a circular roof to form a whole. The lines flow organically, echoing the softness and elegance of the Jiangnan water town, showing agility.

The circular lawn in the center makes the building's large volume disappear. Adjacent to South Lake and overlooking Central Park, the waterside building is covered with locally produced white ceramic panels, which echoes the traditional tile roofs of the Jiangnan water village while being more economical and energy-saving.

Jiangnan traditional tile roof (left), Jiaxing Civic Center white ceramic roof (right)

The flowing roof forms a continuous skyline, like a tarpaulin blown by the wind, bringing a soft sense of wrapping. Whether people are in the central lawn, the outer park, or the second-floor corridor, the scenery changes with every step.

The building avoids clearly dividing the single unit, but arranges the exhibition, education and supporting functions of the three museums under the curved roof, naturally forming a group and a coherent large moving line. The exhibition space, theater, education space, activity space, interactive entertainment and other functions are organically combined, complement each other, and do not repeat each other, avoiding space waste and repeated construction, leaving land for people and nature, and saving resources.

The streamlined white curves enclose a large courtyard, and the circular lawn in the center of the first floor is the core of the entire design. The 6,000-square-meter lawn has become a new urban public space, where every citizen can gather, rest and play in addition to participating in the activities of the three museums or visiting exhibitions.

There are several passages on the first floor of the building that extend in all directions, bordering municipal transportation and external landscapes, connecting the lawn in the courtyard with the park and nature outside the building. This semi-open and semi-private place can be used in a variety of scenarios. In addition to daily activities, it is also an open-air square for large-scale urban cultural and artistic activities.

In addition to the central green space, there are more open and friendly spaces like this in the building. The terrace on the second floor of the building is a 350-meter-long landscape corridor and jogging path.

Citizens can climb the steps from the central green space to take a walk or exercise, or go to the open-air theater and sunken square on the east side, and then walk into the dense park forest outside the building to enjoy the wild fun.

The large trees that originally grew to a certain age in the base were preserved as much as possible, and the landscape design was carried out on this basis to create a new natural park. In the green forest are winding trails and passages that penetrate the enclosed buildings. People can walk through the forest and enjoy the riverside scenery.

The part of the building facing the central lawn is designed with stepped terraces, which echo the white curved roof and overlap to form multiple semi-outdoor spaces. The simplest floor-to-ceiling glass partitions blur the indoor and outdoor space. This is an urban public space for citizens to gather, and it is also a piece of pure land to wash away the complexity of the city.

Indoor photos of the Women and Children Activity Center, Science and Technology Museum, and Youth Activity Center

Red Boat on Nanhu Lake, Jiangnan Water Town; Jiaxing has a unique historical position in China. The development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing resonates with the historical heritage of this city, making this municipal public building a place to enhance citizens' sense of gain and happiness.

The future of the city ultimately belongs to the people here. MAD hopes to create an urban space that everyone enjoys by exploring the integration relationship between the city, nature, and humanities, and provide natural, equal, friendly, and open spaces to everyone in need in the city, so that they can draw a spiritual blueprint for an ideal life in a fast-paced life, and feel the beautiful vision of the future city that will eventually be realized through the positive development of the city and society.

The EPC main project bidding for Jiaxing Nanhu Future Plaza has been completed and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

♦区位图

Master Plan

Architectural model photography: Lian Yiting

1st, 2nd and 3rd floor plans

Jiaxing Citizen Center (Jiaxing Nanhu Future Plaza)
Jiaxing, China
2019-2023

Type: Municipal
Site area: 126,740 square meters
Building area: about 180,000 square meters
Above ground building area: 72,351 square meters
Underground building area: 107,950 square meters
Building height: 38 meters

Partners in charge: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Hayano Yosuke
Partners in charge: Li Jian, Fu Changrui, Liu Huiying
Design team: Yin Jianfeng, Alessandro Fisalli, Fu Xiaoyi, Chen-Hsiang Chao, He Yiming, Thoufeeq Ahmed, Chen Hao, He Xiaowen, Zhang Yaohui, Guo Xuan, Edgar Navarrete, Claudia Hertrich, Deng Wei, Zhang Xiaomei, Chen Nianhai, Li Cunhao, Sun Feifei, Punnin Sukkasem, Manchi Yeung, Li Yingzhou

Owner: Jiaxing Highway Investment Co., Ltd.
Class A Design Institute: Shanghai East China Architectural Design and Research Institute, Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute (Group) Co., Ltd.
Curtain wall consultant: Afa Architectural Design Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Landscape consultant: Pan Asia International Landscape Design Co., Ltd., Beijing Yunhai Tiancheng Landscape Design Consulting Co., Ltd.
Interior consultant: Shanghai Modern Architectural Decoration and Environmental Design Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Logo consultant: Japan Design Center
Lighting consultant: Beijing Ningzhijing Lighting Design Co., Ltd.
Traffic consultant: Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute (Group) Co., Ltd.