What role does a health and wellness project play in regional transformation? What challenges arise from integrating health and wellness initiatives into urban settings? Is a community size of 500 residents ideal for fostering a pleasant living environment? How can we create more diverse living scenarios while maximizing spatial efficiency?
A bird’s-eye view of an ideal community that seamlessly connects with the city © Qicheng Design
In 2014, the Putuo District Government in Shanghai launched the “Taopu Smart Innovation City” project to transform the Taopu area from a traditional industrial hub into an ecological technology center. Today, the project’s ecological core — a central green space spanning nearly 960,000 square meters — has taken shape and is open to the public. Hospitals, schools, and other urban amenities are being developed progressively.
Construction of the Guohua Life International Health and Wellness Center, a key supporting facility for the Smart Innovation City, began on January 10th this year.
As Guohua Life Insurance’s flagship elderly care community project developed over the past two years, Liu Yiqian, Chairman of Guohua Life Insurance and founder of the Long Museum, emphasized that actively promoting the healthy elderly care industry is a new mission entrusted to the company in this new era.
△ Street view showcasing an open, welcoming approach to the city © Qicheng Design
01 Design Conditions
Compact Urban Land Use
The project occupies a modest urban plot of just 13,800 square meters. Within this space, it must accommodate approximately 27,000 square meters of self-care apartments, nursing apartments, and related health and wellness facilities. Additionally, about 1,000 square meters are dedicated to community canteens and activity centers that serve the surrounding neighborhood.
The overall design needs to strike a balance between self-sufficiency and serving the wider community, making efficient spatial planning the primary design challenge common to urban core developments.
△ Site analysis diagram © Qicheng Design
Taopu Central Green Space, Tuyuan Network
02 Design Strategy
Relationship with the Urban Interface
Surrounded by streets on all sides, the project first classifies each street’s character, distinguishing between open and introverted urban facades. By adopting an enclosed building layout, the design defines clear site boundaries and building massing, allowing for spacious internal courtyards and ample natural light. This also fosters a closer, more integrated relationship between the city and the building.
△ Interface analysis diagram: Rich spatial “expressions” inside and out © Qicheng Design
A key consideration in the layout is the maintenance building. To reduce psychological stress for self-care elderly residents, this building is designed to be out of their daily sightlines, while remaining easily accessible and independently open to the public.
Therefore, a podium-style design places the nursing apartments in the northeast corner with their own independent entrance. Rooms facing the central garden are designed as self-contained suites, ensuring vibrant, lively visible spaces.
△ Functional distribution map: Independent urban dialogues shape spatial positioning © Qicheng Design
Green distribution map: immersive, three-dimensional, and diverse © Qicheng Design
△ Apartment foyer featuring a double-decker corridor © Qicheng Design
Nursing apartments with independent entrances and city-facing outdoor activity spaces © Qicheng Design
Borrowing and Refinement
The principle of “borrowing from the source and refining the form” is a core concept from the classic Chinese garden design treatise Yuanye. Inspired by this, the community aims to evoke the feeling of a unique garden.
Despite limited space, the design suspends the first floors of buildings flanking the garden, allowing outdoor landscape views and elevated sightlines to penetrate through. This transparency helps alleviate the oppressive feeling of dense building volumes and enriches the spatial experience.
From the user’s perspective, semi-indoor elevated spaces offer informal, comfortable social areas. This relaxed environment encourages imaginative use by older residents, fostering a welcoming atmosphere.
Additionally, gardens with varied themes are placed at different elevations, such as the rooftop of the support podium, the roof of the four-story maintenance building, and a sunken courtyard. These spaces meet diverse gardening needs while enhancing visual experiences and scenic views.
△ Inner courtyard: diverse spatial relationships facing the courtyard © Qicheng Design
△ Inner courtyard: visual transitions between intimate and expansive spaces © Qicheng Design
Vitality and Community Operation
The community will offer 269 self-care rooms and 100 nursing beds, supporting a population of approximately 500 residents. This scale allows effective management and encourages close-knit neighborhood relationships.
Supporting facilities are decentralized to enhance accessibility and experience:
- A two-story dining and social reception center on the west side faces the city openly, integrating with green spaces and serving as a community gateway.
- Underground movement and lecture halls located in the sunken courtyard benefit from natural light and landscaping.
- The medical rehabilitation area on the first floor of the maintenance building provides specialized healthcare services.
These areas are designed to be both independent and interconnected via elevated walkways and corridors, offering a rich sensory experience within the supporting facilities.
△ Supporting facilities distribution: balancing experience and efficiency
△ Inner courtyard: a three-dimensional corridor system enhancing activity and convenience © Qicheng Design
Throughout daily use, residents can explore the community via both direct routes and leisurely detours, supporting dynamic vitality. To address concerns about disorientation, corner terraces have been designed as memorable waypoints during urban exploration.
Growth Potential
As residents age, the community is designed to evolve accordingly. Some self-care apartments can be converted into nursing rooms to meet residents’ changing needs. Supporting facilities are adaptable and designed for iterative growth to accommodate future requirements.
△ Function conversion diagram: enabling operational flexibility
Facade Expression
As the flagship project, the design aims for strong visual identity while maintaining a friendly urban presence. The color palette combines soft pearl white with champagne gold, emphasizing block segmentation through grid elements and continuous horizontal lines for visual contrast and extension.
Given regulatory constraints on glass curtain walls for health and wellness buildings, curtain wall nodes are carefully detailed with fine metal profiles to achieve the desired aesthetic effect.
△ Curtain wall node detail © Qicheng Design
03 Conclusion
When working on projects, we are often asked: What innovative scenarios and designs have architects created for elderly living spaces?
In truth, adapting to aging is fundamental, but our focus lies in thoughtful spatial planning — how the building’s design encourages active use and participation from residents, rather than treating them as passive recipients.
This project’s core intention is to create a home where elderly residents feel willing to stay, enjoy life, and build friendships.
Project Information
Project Name: Guohua Life International Health Center
Location: Putuo District, Shanghai
Scale: Total construction area of 43,600 square meters
Functions: Self-care apartments, nursing apartments, elderly care facilities, public amenities
Status: Under construction
Owners: Guohua Life Insurance, Chenjia Development
Architectural Design: Qicheng Design
Lead Designers: Guan Yiqun, Wu Qingzhe
Design Team: Dai Aidi, Jin Xiaoyan, Guo Lijiang, Sun Yue, Guan Qingyu, Mei Ning
Construction Drawing Design: Shanghai Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd
Curtain Wall Design: Zhongnan Curtain Wall
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