Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
Suzhou, PRC
Suzhou Industrial Park was approved in 1994 by government. It’s an important project between China and Singapore. It has 3 counties and 300000 people. The growth of SIP keeps a fast pace. The average economy growth is 30% every year.
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University is located inside Suzhou Industrial Park, It is a result of the convergence of the city’s widening open-door policy and globalization in education. It offers degree programmes in the subject areas of science, engineering, and management. The University’s vision is to build up a world-class university that is committed to the training of highly professional experts.
It’s situated in a beautiful environment where there is a harmonious coexistence of the city’s rich cultural traditions and its rapid economic development with convenient traffic.
The important site of Administration and Information Center is adjacent to the 2 main promenade axis in the campus. The Laboratories are located on the east side and Classroom building on the north. It will be a dynamic gathering space in the future.
The Administration and Information Center has a complicated program consisting of administration center, learning and resources center, training center and student activities center. All of the programs are connected by the voids inside the building which represents the concept of Taihu stone. For centuries Taihu lake has been the source for the beautiful and distinctive ornamental stone used for decorating traditional Chinese gardens. Eroded over time by wind and water this limestone is found on dozens of islands and along miles of shoreline surrounding the Taihu lake located on the west side of the city of Suzhou. The stone is found in a variety of color and shapes and many sizes are available. It creates the beautiful poetics appearance of the Taihu stone. It’s appreciated by Chinese scholars during the ancient time and now become an essential element in the Chinese culture. Voids at various height become a 3 dimensional Suzhou garden.
The complicated internal voids inside the learning and resource center are exposed by cutting the stone. The voids become the functional spaces linking all different programs in the building. By exposing, The stone and voids have a more proactive attitude to interact with the surrounding context and people. It is no longer an isolated decorative object but a vessel which attracts people to go inside.
| Europe > | North & South America > | Middle East > |
]