Zhengzhou Linkong Biopharmaceutical Park is the largest innovative and entrepreneurship base for R&D and production of life science and biotechnology in Henan Province, China. Its innovation, cutting-edge and unlimited potential for development are all important factors for designers to consider.
The curvilinear passage that one can roam about serves as the life axis and connects the north and the south of the Park. The Exhibition Center is located in the center of the axis. Its well-arranged layering and sense of quality make it the landmark building.
Together with the International Conference Center and Incubator Center in the south, the Exhibition Center forms the main square of the park and a sharp contrast with the square modularization pilot products in the north- circular symbolises freedom while square represents preciseness.
The curve modelling, spiral and irregular, endows the Exhibition Center with a quiet power. It is an architectural language borrowed to pay tribute to DNA, the most important source code of modern biopharmaceutical industry.
The core space of the Center uses a double-helix structure thus creates a vertical space combined with the central landscape. Its exterior uses metal louvres hovering from the surface waterscape until reaching the roof platform and the interior is organically connected in series via spiral ramps which form life trails, and create coherent and convenient internal flow lines among floors. Three ellipses with different functions rotate in different directions. The continuous curves indoors and outdoors simultaneously form double helix structures, which satisfy the visual requirements in all directions. The spiral louvres condense into an organic structure that traps the three ellipses and forms an infinitely continuous plastic form.
The first floor of the building is a display space, whose large area of floor-to-ceiling glass curtain walls better connect the indoor and outdoor views. The second floor is a flexible office space that meets the needs of different groups of people; it forms a visual continuity with the central space through glass partitions. The third floor is a dining space which is the highest point of the entire building, and its outdoor viewing platform also provides a view of the entire park.
Under the backdrop of the large glass curtain walls, the shutter profiles made of metal aluminium panels make the Exhibition Center shows a stronger sense of technology. Each louvre section is shuttle shaped, and perforated aluminium plates make the entire building lighter. Each shuttle louvre is rotated 30 degrees in the direction of the spirals, cleverly concealing the lamp troughs at the ends, and the curved illuminated face gives the light a rhythmic beauty that enhances the overall flow of the building.
The entrance to the center applies a circular waterscape that echoes with the double helix DNA form. Through the bridge, one can enter the main entrance formed by the waterscape and the second-floor cantilevered structure, whose exaggeration increases the visual sense of layering. The reflection in the water fluctuates with the wind, which echoes with the building.
The center aims to return design ideas to the origin of biopharmaceuticals, and architecture to human charisma, thus obtaining life dynamics extending upward. The beauty of the infinitely variable curves conceals the building’s ceiling, which looks as if it is spreading all the way to the clouds. This special design explains the designers’ aspirations that are ever forwarding in splendid architectural creations.
PROJECT DATA
Project Name: Exhibition Center of Zhengzhou Linkong Biopharmaceutical Park
Location: Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone, Zhengzhou, Henan province, China
Completion Date: October 2017
Gross Floor Area: 4,872 square metres
Client/Owner/Developer: Xing Gang Investment
Architecture Firm: WSP ARCHITECTS
Principal Architect: Wu Gang; Chen Ling; Nelson Tam
Interior Design Firm: WSP ARCHITECTS
Principal Designer: Minghu Zhao
Images: RUIJING Photography
