Rhythm and Movement ——Beijing Zhongguancun Software Park Information Center

Location: Shangdi, Haidian District, Beijing

Client: Zhongguancun Software Park Development Co., Ltd

Area: 1.5hm2

Design: 2003

Completion: 2004

Information Center Building, lies in the northeast of ZSP. An urban green belt is to the east and north of the building. Because ZSP management office is in this building, it becomes one of the most important buildings in the Park.

Most R & D buildings in ZSP have their own attached gardens, providing good environment for their staff and improving the quality of the corporation. However, the Information Center occupies the entire block, only with an inner courtyard.

ZSP management office hopes to transform the urban green belt and make it look like an attached garden of the Information Center building. Because the site belongs to municipal authority and is not the ZSP’s property, nothing elements except walkway and planting will be approved by the local authority, and of course, ZSP doesn’t wish costing too much in the transformation either.

In our design, we get the inspiration from the architecture characteristic of Information Center Building. Ellipse and repetitive horizontal lines are the form language abstracted from the building’s columns, beams, windows, walls and roof. By virtue of some landscape elements, such as hedges, oval-shaped planting beds, paths, squares, benches, lights and vegetation, we used these architectural languages into its surrounding environment, and make the building and the garden integrated together. Horizontal and vertical lines make the small squares present the De Stijl characteristic. Seven ellipse planting beds are planted with seven different blossom or color-leaved trees, thus the visual focus will change with the alternation of seasons. By using low-cost materials, we successful create a beautiful and low-budget garden.