Xixi Wetland Estate is a new development of apartment buildings, designed by David Chipperfield and completed in 2015. Located in a national wetland park on the outskirts of Hangzhou, China, the apartment buildings surrounded by a water garden have a gross floor area of 11,800m² (127,014ft²). The landscape architect is Belt & Collins.
The omnipresent relationship between landscape, architecture, and water is key to the atmosphere in Xixi. This atmosphere has been integrated into a new development of apartment buildings.
The apartment 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 characterised by floating spaces. Room height windows allow for natural light and views over the water garden.
— David Chipperfield
Drawings:
Advertising
Photographs by Simon Menges
Visit site David Chipperfield
Like it? 3
