△ Entrance © Wu Qingshan
Innovation, quality, and speed form the “impossible triangle” of creative work, and design is no exception.
As real estate development accelerates into an era of rapid turnover, the race for speed has reached its limit. Balancing quality and innovation while delivering quickly remains a challenge for designers. Instead of resigning to the notion that you can’t have both, the key lies in learning how to make thoughtful choices.
△ Northern perspective © Wu Qingshan
Recently, the Shaoxing Jinchang Yanbo Feilu “Toulu Fenfei” Lifestyle Aesthetics Museum, designed through an integration of architecture, interior, and soft decoration by Zero One City, was completed and officially opened after a rapid construction period of roughly 100 days.
© Wu Qingshan
01 Smoke Wave Flying Egret: A Head Heron in Vigorous Flight
Jinchang Smoke Wave Flying Egret represents a new exploration into high-density urban living and residential design by Zero One City. Inspired by the elegant white egrets along the Xiaoshao Canal, the project employs streamlined architectural language to express its concept.
△ Independent Residential Rendering
△ Stacking effect diagram
△ Life Aesthetics Museum Courtyard Rendering
Building on the overall ‘Smoke Wave Flying Egret’ planning, the Aesthetics Museum adopts the concept of ‘Head Egret Flying.’ Horizontal eaves seamlessly connect to the entrance canopy with simple, strong lines, evoking a poised stance that instills resilience and a refined artistic atmosphere throughout the building.
△ North facade © Wu Qingshan
The facade features expansive floor-to-ceiling glass facing the street, inviting guests and supporting the museum’s display functions. Inside, the design embraces the surrounding water features, creating a unique oasis.
△ Stretching roof curve © Wu Qingshan
△ Southern perspective © Wu Qingshan
02 The Table and Essence of Classical Aesthetics
The building’s soft curves and chamfered edges create a relaxed form but increase production complexity and construction time. The challenge was how to deliver the project quickly while preserving the streamlined shape as much as possible.
Symmetrical Layout
Beneath the modern exterior lies a classical symmetrical composition. The streamlined design softens the rigidity of symmetry, allowing Zero One City to reinterpret classical aesthetics with a light touch. This symmetry also reduced the number of non-standard components, lowering construction difficulty and accelerating the building process.
△ North facade night view © Wu Qingshan
△ South facade night view © Wu Qingshan
Stacked Curve
The main challenge in constructing the streamlined eaves lies in the hyperbolic shape of the canopy. The designers simplified the segmentation by converting the hyperbolic surface into a single curved surface, reducing complexity from three dimensions to two. This approach not only eased construction but also highlighted the beauty of layered wings.
△ Roof curve details © Wu Qingshan
Aluminum panels are rolled and bent offsite, prefabricated, then welded and assembled onsite. This process reduces manual labor and ensures construction precision.
Prefabrication process of roof module
03 Harmony and Unity: The Egret Returns to Its Nest
After finalizing the architectural plan, the indoor soft decoration team took over. Unlike traditional relay coordination, the interior and soft decoration teams were involved early on during the conceptual stage, working hand in hand with the architecture team to extend the building’s vision with their expertise.
△ Deep negotiation area © Wu Qingshan
The museum’s layout maintains symmetry: centered on the sand table area, it connects the main entrance and park entrance along the short axis, creating open, flowing spaces; along the long axis, the negotiation area and water bar form spaces that transition from dynamic to static, emphasizing stability and privacy.
△ Entrance hall © Wu Qingshan
The entrance hall acts as a prelude to the main exhibition space. The designer lowered the ceiling slightly and used a white portal as a soft partition to frame the landscape. At both ends, two sets of “heron”-themed sculptures complement the furnishings and set the tone.
View towards the exhibition hall from the lobby © Wu Qingshan
Soft decoration details in the entrance hall © Wu Qingshan
Beyond the entrance hall lies the two-story central exhibition hall, featuring varying ceiling heights that create a dynamic spatial experience. At its core, a sand table forms a rounded rectangle shape, extending into a high courtyard. The interior features stacked light strips arranged in fractal patterns, unified by thin film ceiling lights, enhancing vertical spatial continuity and geometric harmony.
△ Two-story central exhibition hall with high ceilings © Wu Qingshan
More than 200 “white egrets” spread their wings around the sand table and courtyards, symbolically chirping and returning, embodying the theme of “returning to the nest.”
△ White egret installation in the sand table area © Wu Qingshan
The antique bronze spiral staircase beside the sand table serves as a key visual element, guiding visitors from the main hall to the negotiation area. Its twisting and segmented form enriches the spatial hierarchy.
View towards the negotiation area from the exhibition center © Wu Qingshan
△ Rotating staircase © Wu Qingshan
The negotiation area features white genuine leather seats by Tocconova, accented with “heron foot” chair legs and “Tree Branches” design elements. Linear lighting fixtures create a warm, comfortable, and refined atmosphere. Booths on either side serve as intimate negotiation spaces, separated by wire glass sliding doors that balance privacy with openness.
△ Negotiation Area © Wu Qingshan
△ Negotiation Area © Wu Qingshan
The negotiation area’s palette centers on a platinum tone, contrasted with orange desktop accents. A gray leather sofa by Poltrona Frau adds a vibrant touch, creating a simple yet luxurious texture. Wall art themed on white egrets completes the space, reinforcing the egret motif.
△ Soft decoration details © Wu Qingshan
Stepping outside the main hall, the central water feature designed by Jiulu Landscape is elegant and distinctive. Its flowing “ribbon” shape evokes the gentle waves stirred by white egrets, blending harmoniously with the building.
△ Central Water Landscape © Yifang Photography
△ South central water feature © Wu Qingshan
△ Landscape Details © Yifang Photography
The harmonious integration of architecture, interior design, soft furnishings, landscape, and concept creates a layered and progressive spatial experience. This subtle design fosters communication and interaction, nurturing a sense of identity and belonging for future residents.
Northwest People’s View © Wu Qingshan
04 White Egret: An Exquisite Poem
Throughout the development of the Jinchang Life Aesthetics Museum, the design team made deliberate choices and remained steadfast. Thanks to an integrated approach with aligned concepts and close collaboration, originality was preserved while significantly shortening the design cycle.
△ Construction process
Design is just one part of the construction journey. The swift completion of this project was made possible by the combined efforts of the civil engineering, curtain wall, and owner teams. We thank everyone involved for making the ‘Head Egret Fly’ a reality!
△ South facade © Wu Qingshan
Project Information
Project Name: Jinchang Smoke Wave Flying Egret Life Aesthetics Museum
Project Owner: Zhejiang Jinchang Real Estate Group Co., Ltd
Location: Shaoxing, China
Floor Area: 1030 square meters
Timeline: 2020
Design Firm: Zero One City Architecture Firm (Architecture, Interior, Soft Decoration)
Design Team:
Architecture: Ruan Hao, Chen Wenbin, Lin Dong, Huang Hao, Zhang Lei, Gong Zijun, Zhuang Longwei, Ma Guangyu
Interior: Ji Han, He Yulou, Zhang Peng, Lao Zhedong, Zhou Miao, Wang Jianhong, Xin Xin
Soft Decoration: Zhang Qiuyan, Zhao Yifan, Ke Anran
Collaborators: Hanjia Design Group Co., Ltd
Curtain Wall Consultant: Shanghai Xima Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd
Landscape Design: NCD Studio Pte Ltd, Jiulu Design
Photographers: Wu Qingshan, Yifang Photography
Film: Wu Qingshan
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