Kunshan Science and Technology Park
Client: Tsinghua Science Park
Address: Kunshan, Jiangsu, China
Type: Office & Workspace, Culture & Education
Service: Architectural Design,
Status: Built
Site Area: 12,200 m²
GFA: 13,500 m²
FAR: 1.00
Jining Science and Technology Museum is located in a new master plan area for Jining and borders a man-made lake. The museum site spreads across four buildings, a science and technology museum, cinema, library, and business center. All four buildings are visually connected in a circular formation, allowing each structure to blend together seamlessly and to create a new landmark for the area. The project’s primary design goals were to create spaces that maximize the usability for users’ while taking advantage of the scenic views of the surrounding river. The layout of each building sharing an underground first floor, granting easy access to each of the buildings, along with the transparent facades that provides an uninterrupted panoramic view of the lake achieves these design goals.Numerous energy-saving measures were taken to ensure that the Science and Technology Center is a representation of today’s innovation and technology. Some of the measures included insulating all the exterior walls and using double-glazed, insulated profiles for the exterior doors and windows.Along with the energy-saving goals, the buildings were specifically designed to create a functional interconnection between indoor and outdoor use, which efficiently connects them with the neighboring communities and creates a new and special relationship with the various surrounding urban realities. The fixed curtain walls are designed for the indoor exhibition spaces that require no natural light; the small windows scattered about the system are added to bring more daylight into the lightwell and improve ventilation. In contrast, the walls directly facing the artificial central lake are all made operable and glazed as a way to create an outdoor space where people can walk around, take a rest and make social contact. Despite the fact that the lights are added onto the fixed curtain walls, they are laid out in line with the window openings – in terms of position and density, taking on a random, natural starry pattern.
