In recent years, China’s aviation industry has rapidly accelerated, with Jiande Aviation Town emerging as the only specialized town in Zhejiang Province to establish a comprehensive aviation industry chain. At the heart of Jiande Aviation Town lies the Jiande Airport Aviation Industry University Research Foundation, dedicated to aviation training and education. This project marks Gad’s inaugural use of the EPC engineering general contracting model, seamlessly integrating design innovation with construction execution. Throughout the process, materials, methods, and costs were continuously refined, balancing construction quality, scheduling, and coordination management to achieve an exceptional realization of the design.
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Design Philosophy: Embracing the Natural Trend
The Jiande Airport Aviation Industry University Research Base is situated on a gently elevated mound, with rolling mountains visible in the distance. This setting initiates a harmonious dialogue between architecture, nature, water, and history. Our design approach prioritizes preserving the site’s original natural qualities.
Inspired by Geoffrey Bawa’s philosophy on the relationship between architecture and nature, our goal is to offer users a space that inspires relaxation and enjoyment, while enriching the site’s spatial narrative.
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Working with the natural landscape, we minimized human impact on the terrain and employed a strategy of “integrating mountains and diverting water” to shape the environment organically. This approach crafted a place rich with natural memories. The building’s sloping roof, with its staggered form, echoes the expansive mountain range, creating a dynamic tension between upward extension and grounding connections.
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△ © Architecture Photography
The design features three independent yet closely connected buildings arranged in U and L shapes, forming an inner courtyard that embraces the terrain. The western section houses logistics functions, while the eastern wing accommodates teaching, meetings, and other communal activities. These mixed uses coexist without interference.
Water plays a crucial role in continuing the site’s memory. Although no natural canal existed, a water pool was introduced in the southwest area, creating a water-facing space complemented by a pedestrian walkway that invites interaction with the water.
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△©gad
Creating Empathy Through a Journey
Strolling along the corridor that follows the terrain’s natural curves, visitors experience a calming rhythm in sync with their footsteps. This wandering experience draws inspiration from the nearby Xi Xi Mountain Villa, where corridors organically connect buildings to the surrounding environment, fostering a rare sense of harmony and empathy between place and person.
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The elevated building volume is supported by slender columns, creating shaded “grey spaces” beneath the corridors that allow free movement. Varied spatial densities enrich the multidimensional walking experience. This landscaped corridor efficiently connects teaching facilities, hotels, offices, and other public support spaces within the park’s core.
△ © Architecture Photography
△ © Architecture Photography
△ © Architecture Photography
△ © Architecture Photography
Respecting the mountain’s natural form, the design maximizes space utilization by carefully cutting and carving into the terrain. This creates integrated spaces such as an entrance activity plaza and lecture halls that blend with the mountain.
Along the walking path, features like a communication-stimulating entrance plaza, a waterside book bar, and outdoor steps designed for rest and reading are thoughtfully interspersed. This balance of activity and calm creates a unique experience at every turn.
△ © Architecture Photography
△ © Architecture Photography
△ © Architecture Photography
Seamless Integration of Landscape and Architecture
Landscape and architecture find true growth potential when considered across the fourth dimension of time. Architecture offers boundaries, scale, form, and context for the landscape, while the landscape reshapes the spirit of place and activates spatial systems according to function and character.
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Elements such as stones, water features, and vegetation appear effortlessly scattered across the grey spaces, deepening the dialogue between building and landscape. These features are subtly integrated through techniques like overhead structures, cantilevers, connections, embedding, and enclosures. This creates an organized outdoor and semi-outdoor spatial system that blurs the boundaries between architecture and nature, maximizing landscape integration within the building layout.
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Architecture here is not an isolated response to climate and culture. Based on Jiande’s humid, rainy climate, the concept of “porous architecture” raises the building’s ground floor to encourage air circulation and spatial transparency.
The result is a design where nature is embedded within architecture and architecture embraces nature, crafting a place that welcomes visitors, supports living, and encourages enjoyment.
△ © Architecture Photography
△ © Architecture Photography
Garden System and Planting Design
The courtyard’s diverse themed gardens expand the range of experiential possibilities. The Peak Garden, the park’s largest central garden, has been landscaped to reorganize the mountain’s shape, enhancing its integration with surrounding buildings.
Green Hill preserves extensive tree-planting areas, anticipating the mountain’s future growth. It acts as the park’s primary green lung, helping regulate the microclimate.
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The Rainwater Garden, located within the logistics service building’s atrium, uses the existing elevation differences to create a tiered hill that echoes distant mountains. The interface between hills forms an S-shaped ecological grass ditch, flanked by wetland plants.
During rainy seasons, rainwater flows from the grass ditch to a lower ecological pond, enhancing the scenic experience for the hotel’s sunken lobby. In dry seasons, the pond retains water, irrigating the characteristic landscape planting via ditches and canals.
△ © Architecture Photography
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Conclusion
Within the EPC engineering general contracting framework, the scope of design continuously expands as we explore new paths. Yet, our unwavering focus remains on balancing creativity with precision. This approach ensures a consistent interpretation of space and time, forming a closed loop from conceptual design to construction completion.
△ © Architecture Photography
△ © Architecture Photography
Technical Drawings
△ General layout plan
△ First floor plan
△ Section diagram
△ Sectional view 1
△ Sectional view 2
△ A building section
△ B building section
△ C building section
△ Design Strategy
△ Original site
Project Information
Project Name: Zhejiang Jiande Airport Aviation Industry University Research Base
Location: Jiande, Zhejiang Province, China
Specific Address: Aviation Industry University Research Base, Shouchang Town, G320 (Shouchang Avenue), Jiande City, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province
Project Type: Cultural and Educational Facility
Design Period: December 2018 – April 2019
Construction Start: June 2020
Project Scale: 36,124 square meters
Design Firm: Gad
Project Director: Yang Ming
Project Lead Designer: Wu Shouqing
Project Team Members
Architecture: Qin Jian, Guan Shengzu, Lu Huiting, Tan Fabing, Su Ye, Zhuang Mingru, Ma Haili
Structural Engineering: Wu Yingdong, Wu Xuefeng, Li Xiaoling, Shen Xiaodong
Water Supply and Drainage: Shao Maoqing, Hu Min
HVAC: Zhang Zhenhuan, Li Fangfang
Electrical Engineering: Chen Guoping, Wang Yue
Additional Contributors
Interior Design: Hangzhou Dianshang Architectural Decoration Design Co., Ltd
Landscape Design: Shanghai Jiedi Architectural Design Co., Ltd
Owner: Zhejiang Airport Training Service Consulting Co., Ltd
Photography Credits: Architecture Photography, gad
Structural System: Concrete frame
Primary Materials: Aluminum panels, exposed concrete
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