The site is located within Baisha Island Financial Town in Shenyang. The Shenfu Reform and Innovation Demonstration Zone, an undeveloped area between Shenyang and Fushun, currently lacks sufficient population to support commercial activities. Additionally, this financial town is only one among many in the development zone. This raises the question: how can a competitive business model be established here? Designing a community center that merely showcases project IP holds little significance in revitalizing the region.
Therefore, a more effective approach is to propose a solution that supports the survival of the entire plot. Our team at URBANUS Urban Practice consistently derives the design direction of individual buildings from urban research and local context. By integrating a greenhouse to address the area’s lack of vitality and public engagement, the project aims to create a lively and integrated ecosystem that attracts both commercial foot traffic and young entrepreneurs.
In regions where public construction markets are stagnant, this project serves as a paradigm—leveraging warm indoor community spaces to stimulate sales or leasing activity. During a government-organized expert review meeting, the plan was recognized for its potential to address the issue of withered green spaces during the long Northeastern winters. Experts also acknowledged the opportunity to use evergreen greenery as a catalyst for urban vitality and community development.
Adhering to the principle that building regulations promote orderly and healthy construction, the final approved scale was flexibly adjusted. Breakthroughs in interpreting planning indicators enabled the realization of this innovative concept.
The community center, one of the supporting public buildings, was conceived during the 2020 Spring Festival amid the pandemic. The prevalent theme at that time was “quarantine,” which sparked a renewed desire for community gatherings. Both the client and architects agreed on the need for simplicity in architecture—transforming the activity center into a vibrant hub for the community.
This goal is easier to achieve in suburban towns, where smaller populations tend to form close-knit communities. The main challenge is the absence of an appropriate space to encourage interpersonal connection.
With this shared vision, the design progressed at an astonishing pace post-pandemic, taking less than four months from concept to completion of indoor construction drawings. Critical tasks such as scheme and government approvals were managed remotely. This rapid progress was possible because the plan focused precisely on several fundamental elements.
The site layout features a main entrance road on the east side of the community center, which forms the town’s primary gateway. The street block extends over a hundred meters deep, so a continuous street wall is more effective for image-building than isolated structures. Furthermore, as this is a Phase One project aiming to conserve land for a future greenhouse on the west side, the design maximizes the use of the north-south land on the east side.
Consequently, the building’s outer form is confined within a narrow north-south boundary. To expedite construction, no basement was included.
Designing a deliberate, hundred-meter-long main facade could easily become sentimental. Instead, we transformed the facade into a vibrant showcase of community life, arranged like a “Bo Gu” shelf, reflecting the pandemic-inspired return to authentic forms.
We envisioned three key community spaces along this facade:
- A linear library with a grand book wall at the back and reading tables near the windows—serving as the town’s first warm beacon on long winter nights in Northeast China.
- A community theater featuring a large exterior window frame. Before performances, curtains open to reveal the theater’s interior in sectional views.
- A small town reception hall with an indoor garden.
The vitality overflowing from these interiors forms the true facade behind the expansive curtain wall.
The Front Square reflects a blend of Chinese cultural characteristics, combining formal ceremonial functions with open, free space for elders to socialize and play.
Though the building’s east setback is wide, an undefined empty space does not constitute a true square. By extending the building’s column grid, we defined a stage-framed square that connects the three main vitality zones on the second floor. Additionally, a sloped wooden floor playground links the first and second floors—originally planned as a green slope to connect indoor and outdoor greenery, but changed due to concerns about winter plant survival.
In typical financial towns, activity centers often include display areas presenting models and planning information directly. We chose instead to showcase the town’s cultural concepts, quality of life, and community spirit through real-life scenes.
An independent small-town exhibition hall on the first floor is accessed via a spatial sequence that enhances the sense of ceremony. Fully enclosed, this space allows the curatorial team to operate independently without interference from other functions. This approach proved wise during the rushed construction process, as exhibition work proceeded without conflicts and remains highly flexible for future displays.
Thus, the activity center becomes a collection of engaging cultural spaces, where the architectural layout itself brings daily life meaning and interest.
These fundamental elements are organized around changing scenarios, all centered on the greenhouse concept. Although the current activity center cannot yet house a real greenhouse, we strive to introduce greenery—especially vertical planting.
Indoor vertical greening is a promising industry for the Northeast region. This design offers a valuable template for promoting such initiatives, revealing the current technological landscape in China.
There are three main routes from the first to the second floor:
- East side: an indoor staircase aligned with an exterior staircase, leading to the second-floor reading space.
- West side: a green indoor garden opens to the west; passing through a bamboo forest leads to the conference area on the second floor.
- South side: the art museum connects to the second floor via an internal triangular atrium.
The second floor mainly houses a library and a multifunctional theater with folding seats. Despite spatial constraints, the two-story library offers varied experiences of movement, stillness, privacy, and openness. It is expected to be the most frequented space, accommodating all age groups and fostering reader engagement.
Where real plants cannot be incorporated, we simulate greenery through graphic design. Inspired by the paintings of French artist Rousseau, wallpapers and carpets evoke a lush, wild plant atmosphere—anticipating the Phase II greenhouse construction.
At that stage, greenery will engage multiple senses—not only visual but also auditory, olfactory, and gustatory.
Although the greenhouse and other supporting public buildings remain under construction, the community library has already attracted attention from nearby residents. We hope that upon completion, this community center will integrate fully with the greenhouse ecosystem, injecting new vitality into the area.
Project Drawings
△ Planning and Design of WD-03-D Plot in Baisha Island Financial Town
△ First Floor Plan
△ Second Floor Plan
△ Third Floor Plan
△ Sectional Perspective
△ Section Diagram
△ Layered Axonometric Diagram
△ Greenhouse Axis Side
Project Information
Architectural Design: URBANUS Urban Practice
Area: 7,097 m²
Project Year: 2021
Photographer: Zeng Tianpei
Lead Architect: Wang Hui
Design Team: Zheng Na, Yao Yongmei, Dou Yonghui, Hu Haibo, Gao Zixu, Wang Jingfei, Hu Jiaming, Zhang Ting, Jiang Zhongyu, Li Gang, Wang Lei, Chai Bingjiang
Construction Unit: Liaoning Baishahu Industrial Development Co., Ltd.
Construction Drawing: Shenyang Huayu Architectural Design Co., Ltd.
Indoor Construction Drawing: Mulan Decoration Engineering Design Co., Ltd.
Landscape Construction Drawing: Jiutuo Landscape
Location: Shenyang, China
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