Steven Holl to Design Three Mixed-Use Projects in China

By Anuradha Kher, Online New EditorShenzen, Bejing, Chengdu, CHINA–Steven Holl Architects, a New York-based firm, has been selected to design three mixed-use projects in China.The Linked Hybrid project in Beijing is scheduled to open in the late Spring/early Summer of 2008, the Vanke Center in Shenzhen is currently under construction and the Chengdu Project is scheduled to open in late 2010.The Linked Hybrid is a 700-unit apartment complex located adjacent to the old city wall of Beijing.Most of the development currently taking place in Beijing comprises independent towers. But the Linked Hybrid is a 2,368,060-sq.-ft “city within a city,” project, which envisions urban space as the central aim. Cafés, delis, laundry, dry cleaners, florists and many more service providers will be part of this eight-tower project, which when complete will house 2,500 people. The project will feature hundreds of different apartment layouts.The digitally driven prefabricated construction of the exterior structure allows for “beamless” ceilings. Every apartment has two exposures with no interior hallways.The firm was selected from a small list of invited firms including MVRDV (The Netherlands) and HAE (China) to design the Vanke Center, a new sustainable mixed-use complex in Shenzhen, China.    The Vanke Center, currently under construction, is located on a 645,834-sq.-ft. site on the South China Sea coast. The building, a floating horizontal skyscraper, will contain a conference center, hotel, serviced apartments and offices.The floating buildings create a flexible area of shaded landscape underneath the building, allowing sea and land breezes to pass through the site.The Chengdu Project is a mixed-use complex scheduled to open in late 2010.