Urban renewal is an ongoing journey of extending cultural memory, where existing buildings serve as a tangible medium for people to experience the essence of culture. Nanjing Jinlin Rongyu embodies this fusion of history and contemporary life, seamlessly integrating the city’s spirit with its rich historical context. Walking through this space, one feels a dynamic interplay of time and space, where modernity and antiquity not only collide but also complement each other.
▲ Realistic photos of the demonstration area
New Life Meets Historical Whispers
Zhang Boji, a Jin dynasty scholar, once praised the landscape of Moling during Zhuge Liang’s visit to Sun Wu, calling it “a place where dragons cover the mountains and tigers crouch on the stones—the emperor’s residence!” This geographical advantage attracted Eastern Wu to establish its capital here, a legacy that persisted through the Six Dynasties period. Faced with such profound historical and cultural heritage, our design begins with the challenge of honoring history, integrating new life, and infusing the project with fresh value in contemporary urban culture.
▲ Nanjing Ancient City Wall
‘Modern’ and ‘endurance through time’ represent the dual nature of Nanjing. With a deep understanding of the city, we aimed for our design to embody a dialogue and fusion between old and new, allowing visitors to sense the folding of time and space as they explore the site.
Traditional Nanjing architecture follows a spatial sequence from the front hall to the back courtyard, reflecting a natural spatial hierarchy of ceremonial front spaces and private rear courtyards. Historically, the front court emphasizes ritual order through layered spatial progression and symmetrical forms, while the back courtyard reveals harmony with nature, enhanced here by modern landscape gardening techniques. Our goal is to reinterpret this traditional layout with a fresh user experience.
▲ Field generated animation
▲ General Plan of Demonstration Zone
The Aesthetic Museum of Carrier L Brick
In the flow of time, the present becomes history, while the past shapes the future. The essence of art and aesthetics is to seek answers rooted in history. Symbols that have withstood the test of time become ever more vibrant. Architecture, as a cultural receptor, requires cultural symbols to express local harmony.
From Nanjing’s abundant cultural heritage, we selected the ancient city wall as the key historical relic, focusing on the symbolic power of bricks to develop a concept centered on “brick aesthetics.” The brick element carries history, evoking a sense of stability, inclusiveness, and endurance that shapes our imagination of place.
▲ Demonstration Zone Rendering
Nanjing has long been a national cultural hub. We chose the symbol of the “scroll” to shape the southern facade, dividing the virtual and real spaces between glass and solid walls to create an image resembling an open book or scroll.
The front courtyard embodies the concept of “round sky and square earth” through a shallow water pool combining circular and square shapes, symbolizing the unfolding of the universe. This use of ancient symbolism crafts a new cultural experience.
▲ Facade generation animation
Inspired by Wu Guanzhong’s calligraphy and painting “Twin Swallows,” where dynamic elements disrupt balance to add vitality, we drew parallels with Nanjing’s ancient city walls and their “dragon spitting water” phenomenon. Introducing a glass water curtain brings vibrancy and fluidity to the solid southern facade. Four roof structures on the left echo traditional Chinese ink painting techniques by breaking compositional balance, injecting a playful spirit.
▲ Wu Guanzhong’s “Twin Swallows”
▲ Realistic photos of the demonstration area
Our approach to ‘new’ and ‘old’ manifests not only through traditional spatial arrangements, ancient cultural symbols, and modern design techniques but also through the materials themselves, which convey a sense of temporal contrast.
While traditional symbols carry historical significance, in today’s industrialized world, glass serves as a temporal carrier, reflecting two centuries of modernization. The smooth, transparent glass curtain contrasts strikingly with the rough, solid blue clay bricks, enhancing the dialogue between modernity and antiquity.
Our interpretation of the ‘brick’ in the nation’s ancient memory goes beyond the enclosed walls to explore new cultural values. On the green brick surfaces, we introduced a nuanced contrast between reality and illusion by varying brick-laying techniques—using gradients, recesses, protrusions, and perforations. Careful consideration of proportions and placement led us to an optimal distribution that enhances the facade’s expression.
▲ Animation showing brick pattern variations
The variation in brick techniques not only enriches the wall’s texture but also creates captivating shifts in light and shadow throughout the day. In the tranquil front area, the interplay of green bricks, red copper, warm lighting, and flowing water forms a timeless, profound atmosphere that transitions beautifully between morning light and evening shade.
▲ Realistic photos of the demonstration area
As a traditional Chinese building material, the ancient clay blue brick firing process has nearly vanished. To capture the authentic antique texture, we sourced bricks from various locations until finding suitable materials.
▲ Realistic photos of the demonstration area
Complementing the blue bricks, we chose red copper to symbolize nobility in Chinese culture. This material not only enriches the facade’s delicacy but also aligns with Nanjing’s historical temperament as the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties.
Force Field of Space
Highlighting the emotional impact of space is a core principle of architectural design; space itself acts as a force field. We strive to harness this fundamental spatial force to guide visitors from one area to the next.
▲ Realistic photos of the demonstration area
The front courtyard, water-lined walkway, and twin rows of Natalie trees form a visual corridor that naturally attracts and guides visitors. As one moves along the path, a serene Zen space gradually unfolds, bringing peace and tranquility.
At the trail’s end lies a narrow, open space resembling a “line of sky,” sparking curiosity and inviting exploration. The entrance is subtly hidden within this transition, revealing itself quietly as visitors move through.
▲ Demonstration Zone Rendering
▲ Realistic photos of the demonstration area
Opening the copper door, the space suddenly expands, filled with light, completing the transition between old and new. The door acts as a portal through which antiquity and modernity fold together in a temporal and spatial journey.
▲ Indoor real-life photos of the demonstration area
Descending the spiral staircase to the lower level, the space opens up, amplifying perception through spatial force. The ceiling’s wooden arches, expansive sand table, reflected sky, and winding pathways create an immersive experience of time and space transformation.
▲ Indoor real-life photos of the demonstration area
From the sand table vantage point, the majestic glass curtain blurs its boundaries amidst shifting clouds and mist, dissolving the division between interior and exterior. The world appears as a sandbox, encompassing the entire universe.
Entering the sunken courtyard amidst towering hills and winding paths, visitors discover green grass, fragrant flowers, shallow streams, bubbling springs, winding pines, arched bridges, water curtains, and caves, forming an enchanting forest. This space generates a primal force that inspires exploration, with paths that twist and turn, evoking introspection and a gentle sense of disorientation. Looking back, the scene remains clear, hidden among lush greenery. At this moment, the stresses of modern life can be soothed.
Looking back towards the sales office, the smooth glass surface reflects the sky and scattered lights, blending nature with architecture.
Here, far from the city’s bustle, we have created a new way of living.
Conclusion: Fusion
“A closed wall is not just defensive, it is invasive, expressing the strong desire of the occupants to live in the city. At the same time, it provides a place for private life to unfold inside.”
—— Tadao Ando
The future venue will be a multi-scale integration of people, architecture, and city. The closed wall will transcend its traditional roles of defense and intrusion to become an inclusive part of the place, reshaping urban living. Jinlin Rongyu will foster new living experiences, impart fresh value to architectural form and contemporary urban culture, and stand as a new landmark that redefines Nanjing’s image.
Project Information
▲ General layout plan
▲ First floor plan
▲ Second floor plan
▲ Underground floor plan
▲ Elevation view
▲ Sectional perspective view
▲ Exploded axonometric diagram
Project Details
Project Name: Jinlin Rongyu
Location: Heban Village, Qixia District, Nanjing City
Building Area: 735.44 m² above ground, 1860.80 m² underground
Owner: New Hope Real Estate Rongchuang China Water Resources Real Estate
Project Lead: Li Yong
Architectural Design: Shanghai Di’ao Design Group
Design Team:
- Demonstration Zone: Design Institute — Zhang Zhixiao, Huang Yuejie, Tai Xuedong
- Regional Design: Zhang Zhixiao, Tang Wei, Wang Liwei, Wu Han, Chen Erdong, Ma Panpan, ZN Design Studio (Zheng Zhangyu, Marginal, Fan Siyuan, Gulin)
- Interior Design: Hong Kong Zhengzhong Design Firm (CCD), Shenzhen Matrix Interior Decoration Design Co., Ltd
- Landscape Design: Belgolin (Hong Kong) Limited
- Construction Drawing Cooperation: Nanjing Xinghua Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd
- Curtain Wall Design: Bangli (Shanghai) Construction Engineering Co., Ltd, Shanghai Xumilin Curtain Wall Co., Ltd
- Floodlight Design: RDI Rui International Lighting Design
- Engineering Construction: Bangli (Shanghai) Construction Engineering Co., Ltd
Design Period: April 2019 – December 2019
Photography: Zeng Jianghe, Tang Lingxiao, Jiang Yanqing
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