▼ Aerial view of the project
Jianye Football Town, situated within the Cherry Valley Scenic Area of Erqi District in Zhengzhou City, is a sports aesthetic town that harmoniously blends nature, sports, leisure, and culture. To align with the master plan of the entire football town, a 3,000-square-meter Tourist Center has been proposed on a terrace southwest of the Houzhang Line at the main entrance. This center will serve as a reception and exhibition space for the whole football town in the future.
▼ Bird’s-eye view from the entrance perspective
▼ Landscape Guide
The Tourist Center is designed to be the iconic entrance image for the entire football town. Jianye Group, the owner, emphasized the importance of creating a unique and memorable landmark. The architectural challenge was to design a building that stands out while blending seamlessly with the regional environment.
The design concept draws inspiration from the local loess gully wind accumulation landform. Thick walls are staggered and radiate along pedestrian pathways, resembling hills emerging from the loess plateau—continuous and harmonious. This low-profile approach pays respect to the site and environment, while a unified thematic vocabulary conveys a powerful and cohesive architectural presence, delivering a strong visual impact.
▼ Loess Gully Wind Accumulated Landform
▼ Shape generation
The building volume is inspired by the loess plateau landscape.
The entire building features a large, column-free interior space. It uses box-type shear walls as the main load-bearing structure, supporting steel floor slabs and roof trusses. This approach posed significant structural challenges but effectively expresses the architectural aesthetic through its structure. The interplay between solid shear walls and glass curtain walls reflects a harmonious unity of function, form, and structural logic.
▼ Overlooking the volume of shear wall support
▼ Architectural model
▼ Structural analysis
Creating a virtual-real relationship between shear walls and glass curtain walls
The bold use of rammed earth finishes on the building façade expresses a deep respect for regionalism and the natural environment. The rammed earth consulting team collaborated closely with the architectural design team to scientifically control texture and color. Local primary red and yellow soils were selected as raw materials to create upper and lower foundation color gradients. Layers of 150mm compacted soil were applied sequentially, resulting in a smooth transition from ochre at the top to earthy yellow at the bottom.
▼ Building façade with rammed earth wall
▼ Close-up of rammed earth wall, showing 150mm compacted soil layers
▼ Wall details
▼ Color system control and node section schematic
The Zhengzhou Jianye Football Town Tourist Center, currently the tallest pure handmade rammed earth building in the world, represents a successful fusion of architectural function, natural landscape, regional culture, and contemporary aesthetics. This project is a bold exploration, combining traditional construction methods with modern technology. The integrated design of architecture and environment imbues the building with a powerful presence, reflecting the magic of the loess land, nature, and the corporate culture and sports spirit that Jianye aims to showcase.
▼ Architectural night view
Indoor space featuring steel structure floors supported by shear walls
▼ First floor plan
▼ Second floor plan
▼ Elevation view
Project Information:
Architectural Firm: Shui Shi Design
Location: Erqi District, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China
Category: Tourist Attractions
Lead Architects: Xu Jinwei, Xie Jian
Architectural Design: Mizuki Engineering – Mikawa Studio (Wang Youwen, Zhang Shuai)
Construction Drawing Design: Water Stone Engineering – Construction Drawing Team (Zhu Quanlin, Du Xiawei, Yu Gang, Yin Jin, Li Hui)
Landscape Design: Water Stone Landscape – Technical Research and Development Department (Shi Li, Huang Jianjun, Zhang Yongliang, Wang Yan, Liu Weiruo, Tan Xuewei, Wu Jingxian, Jiang Sunding, Zhai Dan, Zhang Yangxu, Wang Wenzhen)
Building Area: 2,725.0 square meters
Year of Project: 2019
Photographer: Hu Yijie
Architectural Designer (Owner’s side): Li Shuaifang
Landscape Designer (Owner’s side): Han Qian
Interior Designer (Owner’s side): Zhang Xin
Construction Engineers (Owner’s side): Su Shengyong, Zhao Hua, Fan Weiqiang, Li Ning, Yue Xiaoming
General Manager of Owner’s Project: Liu Yu
Interior Design Firm: Shenzhen Danjian Environmental Art Design Co., Ltd
Lighting Design Firm: Shanghai Color Dot Lighting Design Office (BIM Design)
Logo Design Firm: Shanghai Bujing Logo Co., Ltd
Construction Company: Hunan Dahua Construction Engineering Co., Ltd
Consultants for Rammed Earth Wall: HAS Hehua Architecture Studio / Guo Pengyu, Zheng Zhidong, Chen Ping, An Yuxin, Luo Jiancong
Rammed Earth Wall Construction Company: Hunan Horticultural Construction Group Co., Ltd
Landscape Construction Company: Henan Houde Landscape Engineering Co., Ltd
Decoration Construction Company: Henan Jianxiang Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd
Project Owner: Jianye Residential Group (China) Co., Ltd
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