Marketing centers have always been a key building category highly valued by construction, design, and usage stakeholders. Their exquisite architectural form, versatile functional layout, prime location, and ample construction budget offer distinct advantages.
This project is situated at the intersection of urban roads and serves as the main entrance to the Auto Expo Park. The site is small and narrow, with significant vertical height differences. The new building’s depth is limited to 15 meters, while also providing a viewing space overlooking the race track to the east. The initial design concept envisioned the marketing center as a long rectangular box, unfolding in a linear “one”-shaped form parallel to the west side of the city’s main road, thereby establishing a simple parallel relationship with both the racing track and city road.
The design embraces minimalist architectural philosophy, aiming for a “less is more” approach. It carefully analyzes the site context, purpose, appearance, and facade materials. As the project evolved, various challenges were addressed and resolved step by step.
Architectural Design Inspired by Automotive Culture
Incorporating automotive culture into the overall design, the building’s exterior subtly expresses the dynamic flow of driving trajectories. This is achieved through sculptural form cuts, interplay between solid and void spaces, and a material palette of aluminum, stone, and glass. The facade visually connects the east, southwest, and north, linking different areas like a chain of information. The main structure presents as a white rectangular box atop a dark gray base, resembling a sporty, fashionable sports car and emphasizing the automotive theme.
△ Aerial view
△ Perspective view of the main entrance
Terraced Treatment of Vertical Height Differences
The site’s vertical height differences are skillfully managed through staggered terraces, steps, grassy slopes, and building forms. This graded approach results in a semi-embedded, mountainous architectural effect that creates a seamless integration with the surrounding landscape.
△ Building formation process
Functional Layout Across Three Levels
The marketing center’s first floor hosts exterior-facing functions such as a model display area, reception, negotiation spaces, and service support. The second floor accommodates offices, conference rooms, viewing areas, auxiliary office spaces, and a long viewing corridor. The layout carefully balances dynamic and static zones, as well as internal and external areas, aligning functions, forms, and window placements to achieve a harmonious integration of function and form.
△ First floor plan
△ Second floor plan
Multi-directional Accessibility
The main entrance is strategically located at the street corner to allow access from multiple directions. Its form is sculpted and softened to echo the city corner’s setback, enhancing its iconic presence. A secondary entrance is positioned on the opposite side facing north-south, effectively separating pedestrian flows and minimizing interference. An outward-projecting architectural canopy above the secondary entrance accentuates its momentum and provides shelter from rain.
△ Perspective of the secondary entrance
△ Corner view of the main entrance
Simplified Exterior Facade
The building features an elegant streamlined linear design inspired by automotive styling, using a grey and white color palette. The exterior is standardized and modularized to achieve a minimalist appearance. At the centroid of each diamond-shaped aluminum panel, the facade subtly creates varied concave and convex effects. Windows are selectively placed according to functional needs, with blurred triangular windows scattered across the facade, producing a “scaly” light and shadow effect when illuminated by sunlight.
△ Dynamic facade with scale-like movement
△ Diamond-shaped facade detail
△ Facade details
Viewing Space for the East-Side Race Track
Finding the best vantage point to observe car drifting was a key design consideration. This led to the installation of a large transparent glass curtain wall facing the race track. Additionally, a suspended viewing platform extends from the facade, breaking the monotony of the eastern elevation and fostering interaction between visitors and the building.
△ Viewing corridor
Minimalist Interior and Landscape Design
The interior adopts a gray and white palette, expressing the fluidity and intensity of automotive culture through geometric shapes like triangles and linear elements. Transparent, spaced, and semi-enclosed partitions emphasize spatial fluidity.
Landscape design complements the building’s purity with grey linen paving, geometric lawns, zigzag steps, and informal planting, creating a seamless blend between architecture and environment.
△ Exhibition hall
△ Office corner
The marketing center not only attracts attention itself but also provides views of surrounding features. Its unique positioning makes it a visual focal point, while its form is fully expressed externally. Inside, it creates a dynamic, vibrant space for exhibits and offers visitors excellent perspectives of the exterior environment. Ultimately, architecture is a container for human use, gaining meaning only through human interaction.
Project Information
Project Name: Zhuzhou Auto Expo Park Marketing Center
Location: Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province
Owner: Zhuzhou Gaoke Auto Expo Park Development Co., Ltd
Design Team: Luo Jin Studio
Design Unit: China Machinery International Engineering Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd
Building Area: 1,200 square meters
Chief Architect: Luo Jin
Architecture: Luo Jin, Tan Zhiming, Deng Li
Structure: Xiao Zhi
Water Supply & Drainage: Gan Qingwu
Electrical: He Zongchu
HVAC: Zhang Yonghua
Landscape: Luo Guang
Curtain Wall: Zhang Hongliang, Jiang Lingjun
Interior: Shen Qingjun, Zhou Bobei
Design Period: June 2017
Completion Date: January 2019
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