▲ Project Video 1
The International Financial Ecological City is situated in the vibrant heart of the city’s CBD, adjacent to the Zengcheng Municipal Government and Youth Palace. It overlooks Zengjiang River and Gualv Lake from east to west. As a key regional hub, the CBD is poised to attract numerous international enterprises and elite creators under the leadership of Zengcheng’s “headquarters economy”. The vision is to establish a dynamic, multifunctional financial district that seamlessly integrates headquarters offices, elite business centers, public amenities, and diverse consumer experiences.
While conceptualizing the “International Financial Ecological City,” LAD carefully considered factors such as spatial functionality, architectural aesthetics, and environmental psychology. This holistic approach led to the development of the “ecological city building” concept.
International Ecological Financial City Project Plan X 1
Landmark New City
In designing a landmark city for Guangzhou Zengcheng — famously known as the “Chinese Financial Ecological City” — the first detailed plan of the “International Financial Ecological City” was inspired by mountain imagery. This 158-meter-tall commercial center spans 233,298 square meters and includes a wide array of commercial and cultural facilities such as offices, apartments, hotels, underground parking, and restaurants.
Balancing Economy and Ecology
Ecology is paramount for the future. Rapid economic growth has often led to environmental imbalances. The “International Financial Ecological City” aims to foster harmonious coexistence among humans, nature, and architecture, ensuring the design respects both the site’s character and its ecological surroundings.
Mountain Imagery
Set within a modern architectural complex, the “International Financial Ecological City” enjoys views of distant mountains and nearby waters. Facing Zengjiang River and Gualv Lake from east to west, the buildings subtly retreat, reinforcing the mountain imagery and blending harmoniously with nature. This interplay of virtual and real landscapes frames the architecture as a vertical extension of the natural geography.
Block analysis:
▲ Multifunctional base
▲ Pedestrian flow is concentrated at both ends, forming a natural circulation path; an open atrium allows for natural lighting, ventilation, and gathering spaces inside the building.
▲ The building’s mass is lifted in a staggered formation
▲ The main building’s sides are stepped back and adorned with greenery
▲ The building features staggered terraces planted with greenery
Extended Penetration
The architect positioned the structures on a multifunctional podium and pushed them toward the plot’s edges, creating distinct yet cohesive components that enhance the urban atmosphere. The staggered arrangement and layering soften the building’s silhouette, creating gentle undulations reminiscent of a flowing stream across the site.
Sunlight and fresh air flow freely through the courtyard, while diagonal pedestrian paths ensure smooth circulation inside. Visitors can naturally move through the public hall, cross the site, or gather in communal spaces. This design allows the city to flow into the building and the building to extend outward, fostering a seamless connection between nature and urban life.
Ecological City Construction
The buildings gradually recede from the podium, which is richly planted with greenery. Features such as rainwater harvesting and photovoltaic panels contribute to an energy self-sufficient ecosystem. The subtropical monsoon climate, with its abundant sunshine and rainfall, supports thriving natural vegetation.
The stepped design extends the building’s greenery toward the distant mountains, creating a modern “geographical landscape.” This immerses occupants in sunshine and nature, even while surrounded by urban structures.
▲ Project Video 2
International Ecological Financial City Project Plan X 2
The second design proposal for the “International Financial Ecological City” by LAD takes a different approach. Abandoning aggressive forms, it adopts a “disappearing” stance, gently retreating behind the site and blending with the natural environment.
From the earliest design stages, the team focused on how to respond to surrounding buildings, integrate with the environment, and coexist harmoniously with nature — the guiding “latitude and longitude” principles of the project.
The Metaphorical “Egg” of the Future
Inspired by the “egg” as a symbol of life’s beginnings, the design reflects hope for the future and the emergence of new energy. As a major hub for the city’s economy and knowledge, this concept embodies growth and potential.
Urban planning, landscape, and architecture are integrated into a balanced system. The split “egg” design addresses urban texture imbalances along the central axis, creating a harmonious relationship with the city’s layout. The nearby Youth Palace, an important landmark to the west, is naturally connected through the flowing curves of the “egg” form.
Disappearance and Integration
The project extensively uses glass curtain walls as a building material.
On one hand, the glass façades of the high-rises gradually diminish, blending seamlessly into the sky. This design boldly envisions a future of “smart intercity” digitization, where reality and illusion intertwine, dissolving boundaries between architecture and environment, present and future.
Part of Nature
On the other hand, the building’s form and materials help it become part of nature. The fading silhouette conceals the hanging green lake and grows organically with the surrounding greenery. The glass curtain walls, designed as “breathing façades,” create a healthy and comfortable office environment through intelligent lighting, ventilation, noise control, and humidity and temperature regulation.
Moreover, these façades actively harvest natural energy, such as wind and solar power, helping to reduce energy consumption throughout the building’s lifecycle.
The “International Financial Ecological City” fosters a dialogue that resonates with its environment and nature, embracing openness within the site. For us, the essence of design is not to create standout buildings but to respect holistic considerations and forge meaningful connections. Ultimately, we aspire for architecture to breathe and live like a tree.
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