Introduction
Guangzhou, the birthplace of Lingnan culture, is a city where global influences and local traditions intertwine. In this new era, the city demands higher standards for office environments and commercial spaces. In response, EID Arch Jiang Ping Studio has endeavored to write a new chapter within an existing urban block, aiming to enliven historical context and enrich new spaces with diverse values and meanings.
Located in Guangzhou’s Panyu District, Times · Fanghuali Phase II serves as a key node within the Hanxi Changlong urban area. It benefits from the spillover of the Wanbo area’s core values and the convenience of Guangzhou South Station’s transportation hub. Spanning approximately 210,000 square meters, the entire Times Fanghuali complex includes Phase II with around 100,000 square meters. This phase features three commercial office buildings totaling 70,000 square meters, a 27,000 square meter boutique community retail area called Times Fanghuali CR8, and a 4,000 square meter outdoor garden-style social space. The project emphasizes innovation in business parks and community experiences, creating a multi-dimensional urban space that connects nature, culture, business, and leisure.
Iterative Continuation and Renovation of Industrial Parks
The original industrial park was developed in two stages. The first phase, including the business office park and the underground section of the second phase, was completed in 2017. Due to rapid growth in the surrounding area and evolving client needs, EID Arch focused on expanding Phase II, adhering to the original planning logic while building upon it. The goal is to create a mixed-use urban complex that integrates office, commercial, cultural, and social functions through open, shared indoor and outdoor spaces.
Phase II of Era · Fanghuali supplements and optimizes traditional urban functions by introducing commercial and cultural service parks alongside the existing office spaces. This approach supports the innovative evolution of industrial park roles, reshaping urban public spaces and revitalizing the community.
Situated amid the urban village transformations in Guangzhou, Times · Fanghuali Phase II preserves the location’s historical memory while accommodating modern lifestyles. The owners finance redevelopment through leasing and construction, ultimately returning ownership to the village committee after 30 years. This context demands a cautious approach that respects the existing heritage, fulfills new functional needs, and integrates the project organically into Guangzhou’s contemporary urban fabric.
Original Planning vs. Updated Scheme
△ Building generation logic
Plug-in Mixed-Use Boutique Urban Complex
This one-stop, highly integrated boutique urban complex reflects a microcosm of Guangzhou. It vividly showcases the fusion of modern and traditional, urban and village, cultural and natural elements that define contemporary Guangzhou and its revitalized communities through rich architectural language.
The main office buildings in Phase II are arranged in a stepped layout, featuring clean, orderly facades segmented by vertical textures. The landscape design focuses on shading from the south and optimizing views to the north. The stepped height difference maximizes landscape visibility for office occupants.
Mixed Commercial and Office Complex
△ Layered Outdoor Landscape Space
△ Era · Fanghuali Phase II Business Space
△ Integration with Existing Park Landscape
The project fuses modern urban spaces with traditional arcade and street culture, allowing visitors to experience cultural memories and spatial stories amid the dynamic urban environment. The high-rise volumes and facade divisions in the project’s core area follow the initial master plan’s patterns, maintaining a consistent urban image. Diverse facade treatments and block techniques transform the low-rise areas into open urban squares that integrate public, exhibition, and commercial functions. This combination of high and low elements creates a lively and engaging urban interface.
Theater, Office, and Commercial Space Integration
△ City Plugin Activates the Urban Interface
Rich and Refined Facade Textures Revitalize Community Life
A New Hub for Trendy Arts and Innovation
Moving beyond the conventional “topping off” approach between podiums and towers in urban complexes, the design team innovatively introduced a boutique community retail space — Times · Fanghuali CR8 — within the Phase II business park. This addition aims to create a dynamic “trendy art gathering place,” blending urban life with cultural vibrancy.
△ Function Distribution
△ Cultural Exhibition Space
As the foundation of urban activity, commerce draws inspiration from nature, art, and fashion to explore diverse lifestyles. This creates unique urban experiences that blend commercial centers with natural landscapes, offering a layered garden-style shopping environment that serves as a social hub with an artistic atmosphere in a fast-paced city.
△ CR8 Internal Commercial Space
The design weaves the urban interface with some office tower volumes, using varied materials, scales, and staggered arrangements to form an organic, small-scale composition. This approach eliminates the imposing feel of rectangular blocks and creates a balanced and harmonious overall facade effect.
The boutique community’s commercial space features a partially elevated first floor that forms a welcoming social plaza. A prominent grand staircase serves as the main entrance, guiding visitors to the upper level. Along the facade, various functions—boutique retail, high-end flagship stores, trendy pop-ups, luxury car brand showrooms, Era Cloud Screen theaters, and cultural exhibition spaces—are connected with precisely sized gaps. This enriches the urban interface and embodies the traditional arcade spatial features of Guangzhou.
Era Cloud Screen Theater Under Construction
Green Connectivity: Integrating Business and Lifestyle Innovation
The office area is richly landscaped with shared green features such as vegetated terraces and flower beds. These intricately designed terrace walkways facilitate seamless internal connections while extending naturally into commercial zones. Inspired by Lingnan’s hills, terraces, and unique landforms, the multi-layered landscape platform allows greenery to flow through, softly blurring the lines between city, nature, and architecture. The stepped terraces, combined with tropical plants suited to the Lingnan climate, create a natural “market” experience for users.
△ Architecture and Landscape Integration
△ Business and Office Interaction Platform
The office employs an eccentric split-tube layout that maximizes natural light and open space. The design palette favors gray and white tones, creating a calm, modern atmosphere befitting high-end business settings. Large windows open onto outdoor markets and shared terraces, integrating nature and social interaction into the workspace—facilitating meetings, leisure, social gatherings, and conversations with nature. The design skillfully merges all these diverse functions into a cohesive whole.
△ Office Lobby
Era · Fanghuali Phase II fully embodies the inclusive and pioneering spirit of Guangfu culture. The design respects the context, integrates complex spatial functions, employs rhythmic and richly textured facades, and introduces a distinctive “wedge-shaped” community commercial cultural form. This approach creates a city “plug-in” that avoids excessive design or ornamentation, adheres to the original standards, and serves as a thoughtful continuation of the overall environment.
This project acts as a filter of contemporary trends and a montage of virtual and real architecture. It reflects Guangzhou’s rapid urban-rural integration and transformation, highlighting the coexistence of diversity and vitality in urban development. It also establishes a new cultural landmark and a civic public space that fosters a strong sense of belonging.
Project Drawings
△ General Layout Plan
△ First Floor Plan
△ Second Floor Plan
△ Section Diagram
△ Elevation Drawing
Project Information
Location: Panyu, Guangzhou, China
Owner: Era China
Design Period: 2017-2022
Building Area: 98,982 square meters
Project Type: Urban Complex, Office, Commercial, Cultural
Architect: EID Arch Jiang Ping Studio
Lead Architect: Jiang Ping, AIA
Architectural Directors: Bao Jialu, Lu Shengyun, Lin Xiaohai
Design Team: Ding Kai, Shen Mingwei, Michael Morgan, Zhao Feng, Xie Ben, Meng Jin, Wang Wenjia, Xu Wei, Sun Kailin, Zhang Siyuan, Xia Chunru, Tan Zhonghan, Cheng Yixuan, Tang Xiaohui, Jiang Cheyuan, He Fangzi, Fan Di, He Chendi
Consultants:
Structural, Mechanical & Electrical, Construction Drawing Design: Guangzhou Xian Jianxiong Joint Architectural Design Firm / Guangzhou Hanhua Architectural Design Co., Ltd
Curtain Wall Consultant: Guangzhou Tongcheng Construction Technology Co., Ltd
Landscape Consultant: Shenzhen Aoya Design Co., Ltd
Interior Consultant: Guangzhou Symbiotic Form Engineering Design Co., Ltd. (Office) / Xianghe Space (Commercial) / Shenzhen Jieen Creative Design Co., Ltd. (Commercial)
Lighting Consultant: BPI Lighting Design
Architectural Photography: Qingzhu Imaging / Kaijian Vision / Huajue Imaging – Lin Huimin
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