Located in the coastal city of Xiamen, China, Xinhe Design Center covers an area of ​​15,000 square meters and a construction area of ​​61,000 square meters. It is the research and development design headquarters of Xinhe Group and its six major fashion brands. "We hope this is a building with bones and skin," said Ma Yansong, partner of MAD. "This is the commonality between clothing and architecture. They both explore the relationship between the inner and outer worlds."

The design of "Xin He Design Center" is centered on a circular atrium, with six large-span spaces radiating in a star-shaped layout, forming a powerful skeleton structure, in which office spaces and green gardens are mixed. A translucent PTFE membrane is hung on the outside of the three-dimensional garden, which not only provides shade and ventilation in hot seasons, but also makes the building look elegant and light, as if a thin and soft skin is covering the building skeleton. Ma Yansong explained: "I find it interesting that a building with a rational and logical structure looks like it is floating in the wind."

As an innovative office building, its spatial organization structure is like six petals unfolding around a central point, allowing the group's six major brands to have their own independent office and R&D space while also being able to communicate with other departments. Different from the common square box buildings, the divergent layout makes the office space flexible and efficient, with sufficient natural light, ventilation and landscape.

The atrium is a public area open to employees and guests of different brands. The sky bridge in the atrium can be used as a performance space for fashion shows in addition to being an aerial transportation connection. The two landscape elevators in the atrium connect the semi-transparent office hall space vertically. The internal and external environments are connected, extending the public communication of the R&D center from indoors to the outdoor garden, providing employees with a relaxed atmosphere and venue, while also having a strong centripetal force.

The design center is a high-efficiency green building suitable for the local climate. The first floor of the building is high and elevated, and the building area is reduced to 1/3. The ground is mainly green and waterscape open to the city, becoming part of the city's public environment. The elevated ground floor and the building atrium form natural ventilation, bringing cold air to each floor in summer. In winter, the closable glass atrium becomes a sunny four-season hall. The three-dimensional garden allows the land to achieve a 100% greening rate. The building facade uses a special translucent sunshade film with a designed light transmittance of 40%, which not only reduces the building's solar radiation, but also provides sufficient soft natural light for the office space. The roof uses a solar panel device to meet part of the electricity consumption required for the daily operation of the office building.
Xinhe Design Center is located in Xiamen, a coastal city in China. The building covers an area of ​​15,000 square meters and a construction area of ​​61,000 square meters. It is the research and development and design headquarters of Xinhe Group and its six major fashion brands. “We hope this is a building with bones and skin,” said Ma Yansong, partner at MAD. “This is the commonality between clothing and architecture. They both explore the relationship between the inner and outer worlds.”

"Xinhe Design Center" is under construction and is expected to be occupied in 2017.

Xinhe Design Center
2010-2017
Xiamen, China

Type: Office Building
Status: Under Construction
Site Area: 15,624 square meters
Building Area: 61,534.6 square meters
Building Height: 45.5 meters

Leading Architects: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Hayano Yosuke
Design Team: J Travis Russett, Flora Lee, Liu Huiying, Fu Changrui, Xu Chen, Li Yuanhao, Julian Sattler, Jei Kim, Jakob Beer, Younjin Park, Liu Ling, Ma Ning, Sear Nee, Zhu Jinglu, Liang Zhongyi, Sarita Tejasmit, Natalia Giacomino, Zeng Lingyue