01. International Meixi: Discovering New Concepts for the Ideal Life
Meixi Lake International New City is situated at the heart of Xiangjiang New District, serving as a pivotal point for the western expansion of Changsha’s Meixi Lake area. Positioned as the “center of Changsha New City,” the project benefits from a prime location adjacent to Meixi Lake International Axis Phase II and the Third Ring Road Sports Park, offering exceptional landscape and accessibility.
△ Aerial view of the Meixi Lake central axis
Functional Integration and Comprehensive Facilities
The project encompasses two residential plots and one commercial plot, naturally enabling a diverse functional mix. A pedestrian bridge connects the lifestyle exhibition hall, residential areas, commercial districts, and the mall, forming a vibrant 24-hour living circle. Additionally, the design thoughtfully integrates the surrounding ecological green axis and cultural resources, promoting seamless regional planning and urban functionality.
△ Functional combination of project land use
△ Perspective of the commercial mall
Adjacent to Meixi Lake International Axis Phase II, the project leverages an undulating skyline and cohesive public housing facades to create a unified, smooth, and inviting urban image.
△ Facade design of public buildings
△ Entrance view of public building
The site is located just 3 kilometers from Meixi Lake, bordered by a green axis to the north and a river alongside Elephant Trunk Nest Forest Park to the south. The design maximizes the site’s scenic advantages by optimizing layouts, incorporating super high-rise residential units, and creating a central garden. Elevated ground floor spaces foster interactive landscapes inside and outside the site.
Overall bird’s-eye view
△ Local effect
02. Yunqi Meixi: Crafting Spatial Interaction with Freeform Design
The project’s overall concept is inspired by the notion of “clouds,” symbolizing freedom, flexibility, and elegance.
Cloud Architecture gently integrates the project into the Meixi Lake axis and adjacent sports park. Cloud Life introduces a novel lifestyle within the Meixi Lake International Community, creating a “cloud city” living experience. The cloud concept harmoniously blends diverse business formats, including TOD, experiential commerce, education, and rich ecological elements.
The living hall’s design theme, “Strolling Through Clouds,” uses mimetic techniques to evoke a cloud-like atmosphere. Floating panels of varying shapes overlap vertically, fully expressing the cloud form. Architecture, landscape, and interior spaces employ smooth, streamlined curves to create a flowing, dynamic environment.
△ Design concept diagram
△ Life Hall rendering
Conceptual Symbols Reflecting the Venue
The living hall occupies a relatively independent triangular plot, bordered by a city road on one side and a city park on the other. The architectural design thoughtfully responds to the terrain, extending from the street corner along both the road and park. Soft curved floating panels form the façade, creating a light, airy feel. The building recedes gradually towards the park, with floating panels blending into the ecological landscape, resembling clouds rising from treetop canopies when seen from a distance.
△ Design generation
Seamless Flow: Uniting Interior and Exterior Spaces
The concept of “cloud” extends beyond architectural form to encompass landscape and streamlined design, achieving conceptual unity throughout. From the living hall to the model house, various functional areas connect along a flowing path, offering ever-changing scenic experiences and enhancing spatial engagement.
△ Streamline generation
△ Overall Plan © GREENTOWN AKIN
△ Rendering
The living hall is planned for future conversion into a kindergarten, featuring a gently sloping design that creates engaging play areas for children. The first layer’s floating panel extends northward, forming a gentle slope integrated with the ecological axis and ground landscaping. Mirroring the children’s playground along the central axis, the slope’s tail rises dynamically, incorporating slides and climbing nets. This design transforms the building into a playful and functional environment, blending architectural aesthetics with versatile use.
△ Rendering © GREENTOWN AKIN
03. Born to Beauty: Exploring the Language of Curves
To embody the dynamic spirit of “clouds” in the living hall, the building incorporates three-dimensional curved floating panels that cantilever outward. Unlike flat surfaces, these 3D forms offer a more expressive and fluid representation of clouds. Supported by the main structure and sculptural columns, the floating panels blend freedom with restrained elegance.
Spatial scale beneath the floating panels
The greatest challenge in constructing 3D floating panels lies in their precise installation. The design team controls panel shapes through grid point elevation adjustments and integrates 3D modeling to guide detailed curtain wall construction drawings, aiming for accurate realization of the intended forms.
△ Curtain wall design workflow
To achieve a cloud-like, seamless, and lightweight appearance, the floating panels were initially planned with pure white matte UHPC material, prefabricated for optimal visual impact. Due to scheduling and budget constraints, cold white-toned aluminum panels were chosen instead. Joint designs follow the curve’s natural flow, with division sizes adjusted to meet material specifications.
To enhance the lightweight feel, the floating panel eaves underwent styling adjustments. After comparing multiple options, the internal size and shape were optimized to balance visual elegance with structural integrity.
△ Shape evolution
Sculpted Columns: Staggered and Organic
The column design balances structural requirements with visual appeal. The column tops are enlarged to integrate smoothly with the floating panels, featuring a groove detail enhanced by lighting for refined aesthetics.
The south facade columns serve as key structural supports arranged axially. To avoid monotony, their tops feature eccentric elliptical shapes, with adjacent columns arranged in reverse to create a dynamic, staggered rhythm.
To structurally support the floating panels, steel columns’ diameters increased from 150mm to 273mm. To maintain a slender appearance, external decoration was avoided. After extensive coordination with construction teams, steel sheet welding was used for column caps, with eccentric caps custom-made by a GRC factory and uniformly coated on-site to achieve a sleek, cylindrical finish.
Simple Transparency with Refined Details
The main facade features transparent glass, creating a pure and open aesthetic. Designed for future kindergarten use, the floating panel curves fluctuate within structural and lighting constraints based on floor levels. Glass connects seamlessly to the floating panels, with the portion above floor lines treated as curtain walls. The structure beneath forms terraces, adding spatial depth.
△ Wall detail drawing
Connections between glass, floating panels, and ground utilize metal wire grooves, enhanced by lighting to display soft curves at night. Terrace edges feature metal trims for precision, while white wire mesh railings ensure safety without compromising visual subtlety.
Innovative Execution and Active Collaboration
During construction, the innovative 3D curved design faced challenges including technical hurdles, cost management, and tight schedules. Designers remained on-site to collaborate closely with builders, ensuring the project’s successful realization and faithful adherence to the original design vision through persistent effort.
△ Construction process
△ Comparison between renderings and real-life images
04. Boundless Scenery: Creating a Cloud-Inspired Life
Six quality spatial modules guide the residential design and planning, combined to form a harmonious living model that integrates community with park and life with scenic beauty. The development offers a range of residential units from 143 to 320 square meters, as well as apartments around 220 square meters, featuring spatial concepts such as home migration, multifunctional public areas, and master bedroom hotel styles. This holistic approach balances asset value, functionality, and emotional appeal.
Beginning with the Life Hall, the district develops east to west. From product layouts and facade designs to comprehensive service facilities, every detail reflects a commitment to comfortable living and high-end quality.
By Meixi Lake, living the dream of clouds!
Technical Drawings
△ First floor plan
△ Second floor plan
△ Third floor plan
Project Information
Project Name: Greentown Investment Promotion · Changsha Guiyu Yunfeng
Total Building Area: 385,779 ㎡ (Demonstration Zone: 1,810 ㎡)
Construction Year: 2021
Owner: Greentown China / China Merchants Shekou
Architectural Design: ZWA Zhuoshi Water Stone
Curtain Wall Design: Greentown Curtain Wall
Landscape Design: AKIN Green City Love Landscape
Photography: Hu Yijie
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