LOHAS
Lehuo Collection Box
Confronted with tight land constraints and strict budget control, we addressed challenges through rational and logical analysis. We carefully organized functional spaces, applied mature industrial materials, and used thoughtful color schemes to clad the volumes. This approach naturally resulted in a basic set of architectural spaces with overlapping heights and depths. — Meng Fanhao
Ziluo City is situated within the Nanjing Gaochun Yada Health and Leisure Tourism Industrial Park, a themed resort integrating hotels, dining, entertainment, and cultural exhibitions. The site is surrounded by water on three sides and bordered by a park auxiliary road on the fourth, offering excellent environmental conditions.
△ Location Map
The project evolved through several revisions, initially planned as a general children’s playground but later expanded to include multiple functions such as a black box theater, themed trampoline park, training classrooms/multipurpose halls, cafes, and cultural and creative retail spaces.
However, these diverse functions—particularly the black box theater, trampoline park, and multipurpose hall—require high, column-free spaces that conflicted with the tightly defined land boundaries. The three large volumes could not be stacked, and their combined footprint already covered nearly 60% of the total site. Additional functions and service areas further tightened the site constraints.
Given these limitations, the design process began by arranging the three main functional blocks and auxiliary spaces on site. The primary volumes were placed first according to precise size requirements, then the more flexible auxiliary functions were distributed into corner spaces to optimize spatial relationships.
△ Layout development
Considering the needs of various commercial spaces—such as the entrance lobby, coffee shop, cultural sales, and training rooms—as well as circulation for entry and emergency evacuation of the major volumes, waiting areas for the black box theater, and running tracks, multiple design options were evaluated. Ultimately, a modular, high-low stacked Lehuo Collection Box was finalized.
The three main large volumes were positioned independently on the site, with auxiliary spaces of lower floor height requirements filling corner areas within the site boundary. A large platform connects these volumes, covering the auxiliary functions and creating a roof activity area as well as a basement space. This platform is excavated to form a courtyard and skylights.
△ Form evolution
To enhance the sensation of the large platform floating, the facade treatment extends the wall’s vocabulary to the base level. Complementing the surrounding water, the coffee shop is sunken with enlarged external nodes to fully integrate with the environment, giving the impression of a floating children’s playground. Each of the three main volumes is assigned a distinct color to reinforce this concept.
The negative space created by the three large volumes aligns with the main entrance hall, facilitating streamlined access to the primary functions. The corridor between the black box theater and trampoline park serves as both a running track and audience waiting area. Additionally, the corridor connecting the classroom/multipurpose hall and trampoline park links auxiliary functions such as restrooms and storage.
The coffee shop to the right of the entrance hall features an elevated floor aligned with the interior. Folding doors open continuously to reveal the water landscape, allowing pedestrian flows from the main entrance to access the outdoor area guided by the adjacent wall. Along the auxiliary road, a substation and public restrooms facing the park provide direct services for visitors.
Structurally, considering comprehensive requirements of system integration, schedule, and budget, the main framework uses reinforced concrete, while the trampoline park and black box theater feature light steel roofs to achieve large spans. Due to differing interior and exterior elevations of the large platform, a single-sided cantilever structure was necessary, limiting cantilever length to about two meters.
For facade materials, strict cost control and the lack of daylight requirements for the black box theater and trampoline park led to the use of corrugated metal panels, commonly found in industrial buildings, for these volumes. The large platform and base walls are finished with a faux exposed concrete coating to emphasize clear architectural logic. The classroom/multipurpose hall features perforated panels as a double-layer skin to balance facade design with lighting and ventilation needs.
The three volumes are painted in vibrant blue, orange, and yellow (interior skins) to express vitality and childlike charm.
For detail design, to maintain conceptual coherence, the connection between indoor and outdoor spaces was carefully considered early in the process. Outdoor materials extend seamlessly indoors, and thicknesses of outdoor surface layers were accounted for in interior spatial dimensions. The elevation of outdoor grille ceilings was also designed to accommodate the net height requirements for indoor HVAC equipment.
The Ziluocheng project underwent multiple revisions within just over a year, from design through to delivery and opening. Due to comprehensive considerations of construction timeline and budget, the large roof was changed to a non-accessible roof, several courtyards were eliminated, and only three skylights were retained. The originally fully open folding doors in the café were replaced with swing doors. The architectural process from conception to completion is complex and time-consuming, inevitably accompanied by compromises, embodying the art of managing regrets.
Throughout this process, we maintained focus on the overall vision, making necessary compromises while addressing key conflicts and ensuring basic spatial quality. This approach reflects how professional architects tackle real-world constraints.
Today, Ziluo City is complete and operational, serving as a parent-child entertainment center for local residents and visitors. Despite extreme constraints in land usage, schedule, and budget, the project was approached rationally, resolving issues step by step. The final result successfully met expectations. We believe the spirit of childhood’s paper airplane will take flight here once again.
Project Drawings
△ General Layout Plan
△ 1F Plan
△ +4.000m Elevation Plan
△ +6.600m Elevation Plan
△ Section
△ Wall Detail
△ Wall Detail
Project Information
Project Name: Nanjing Yada Ziluocheng
Location: Gaochun, Nanjing, Jiangsu
Design Firm: Line+Architectural Firm gad
Lead Architect / Project Creator: Meng Fanhao
Design Team: Li Xinguang, Yuan Dong
Building Area: 4,538 square meters
Design Period: May 2020 – October 2020
Construction Period: October 2020 – May 2022
Owner: Jiangsu Yada Real Estate Co., Ltd.
Construction Drawing Partner: Nanjing Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Structure: Reinforced concrete, light steel roof
Materials: Corrugated panels, perforated panels, imitation plain concrete coating
Photography: Wu Qingshan, line+, Chen Xi (model)
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