Our Los Angeles office was invited and shortlisted to participate in a competition to design a new state-of- the-art newspaper facility and cultural center in the heart of Guangzhou, China. The mandate was to create a landmark cultural facility that through technical, institutional, and sustainable innovations would set the standard for the fierce competition in the newspaper and multimedia markets.

The north-south urban fabric of the city of Guangzhou informs the orientation of our planning grid and establishes a visible connection of the spatial order of the new Press Cultural Center to the city.

For centuries, the river edge has influenced the planning and physical development of the city. The north-facing new building plinth is shaped to reflect the river bank and pedestrian way that will evolve as an important public destination. The scale and orientation of the localized urban fabric east of the site has been extended to the project site to further engage the architectural context and street grid.

At the heart of the site planning is an important new civic plaza and outdoor room that provides access to the new museum, housing and support, and the Guangzhou Press newspaper offices.

Credits

Design Team:
Michael Palladino
James Crawford
Alex Wuo
Mark Sparrowhawk
C. Hardy

Project delivered through
Richard Meier and Partners Los Angeles, 2011