Nanjing Hexi Mixed-Use Development
Year: 2024 Design & Honor Awards | Category: Built Project over 5,000 SF
The Phase III Expansion of the Nanjing International Exposition Center is the culmination of the ongoing convention district development. This expansion totals 236,000 sm and features a 50,000 sm exhibition hall and a 14,600 sm merchandise mart as program complements to the original Phase I campus. Separated from the exhibition hall by a pedestrian laneway are three highrise office/hotel towers atop a podium with 21,200 sm of retail and entertainment.
The design complements the forms and materials of the original Phase I campus while incorporating a more diverse environment associated with vibrant urban retail districts.
Design Challenge
The 8.2-hectare Phase III site is located at the south side of Phase I across Jinsha River West Road and offers a dramatic grand lobby on Jiang Dong Avenue. The exhibition center conveniently connects with Phase I via a bridge across the Jinsha River West Road linked to the proposed retail extension of the Phase I complex and an underground tunnel from the proposed Phase I underground garage. Both the exhibition hall roof and the faceted highrise tower facades further evoke the architectural vocabulary of the Phase I campus and express the dynamic movement of sport in celebrating the successful International Youth Olympics that Nanjing hosted on the site in 2014. Also, the three towers located of the south podium fulfill the ‘urban wall’ aspirations of the original master plan for the Youth Olympic Boulevard.
Finally, and most importantly, Phase III boasts a 400-meter-long pedestrian laneway between the exhibition hall and south podium that realizes an urban design goal for the greater Hexi District of a comprehensive system of separate, dedicated pedestrian environments. The laneway provides a dynamic offering of retail and entertainment venues in service to exhibition attendees and residents of Hexi.”
The development is situated on a tight site with loaded program requirements. One significant challenge involved creating a bridge connection to the existing facility across the wide city road. Additionally, two glass prism-like lobby forms presented a great challenge with the structure and curtainwall design. The team deployed innovative curtainwall connection designs to achieve the challenging form.
Project Information
Firm
TVS
Associate Firm
JSADI, Jiansu Province, Nanjing China
Owner
Nanjing Hexi New District
Project Location
Nanjing, China
Completion Date
12/1/2020
Architects and Designers
Kevin Gordon
Jeanie Lim
Adam Spitz
MEP Engineer
JSADI
Structural Engineer
JSADI
Civil Engineer
JSADI
Landscape
JSADI
Consultant
Buro Happold Façade Engineering
Photographer
Courtesy of the Jiangsu Province Architectural Design Institute
