Xixi Wetland Estate, Hangzhou CH

David Chipperfield, 2016



Xixi, a national wetland park located on the outskirts of Hangzhou, is a built landscape and an area of nature, which has been shaped by man for over a thousand years.

The omnipresent relationship between water, landscape, and architecture is key to the atmosphere in Xixi. This context has been integrated into a new development of apartment buildings. The buildings are surrounded by a water garden, which, as a reference to the wetland park, is a mostly wild landscape. In contrast to these green surroundings, the buildings appear as dark stone volumes embedded in the water garden.

They are, as is typical for villages in Xixi, placed on a stone plinth that sits in the water. This plinth forms the base of a village group with various levels, walls, and balustrades creating a sequence of exterior spaces, which enable access to the buildings. The interiors are characterized by floating spaces. Room height windows allow for natural light and views over the water garden.


Project start: 2009
Completion: 2015
Gross floor area: 11,800 m2
Floors: 2 (+1 underground)
Units: 40
Client: Hangzhou Westbrook Investment Co. Ltd.
Architects: David Chipperfield
 




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