From afar, the building appears to be a traditional Jiangnan residence, featuring pink walls and black tiles. Upon closer inspection, it resembles a classical garden with extended eaves. Moving even closer reveals a modern industrial park characterized by glass curtain walls and metal grilles. The interplay of mirrors and water scenery harmonizes with the roof and surrounding mountain terrain, creating transitions that are half-hidden, half-transparent, embodying the subtle essence of the East.
The Xidong Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Power Plant employs modern techniques to reinterpret the poetry and rhythm of traditional architecture. This approach eliminates the imposing industrial feel, allowing the facility to blend seamlessly with the local natural and cultural environment.
Project Overview
The Xidong Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Power Plant Upgrading and Expansion Project is located in Huangtutang Village, Donggang Town, Xishan District, Wuxi City. It lies north of the Xisha Line and west of the Dongqing River, surrounded by a lush, tree-lined environmental park. To the east of the plant is the first phase of the existing factory building.
Initially, the owner’s requirements for the expansion project focused mainly on craftsmanship and production functions. Their vision for the facade’s aesthetic and building quality was vague, resulting in a preliminary plan using painted color steel plates to match the first phase’s exterior.
As communication with the owners deepened, it became clear that environmental protection enterprises prioritize practicality, economy, and quality. The owners also envisioned integrating local characteristics into the project to create a city landmark. Keywords such as “regional characteristics,” “harmony,” and “economy” emerged. With over half of the construction underway and the operational deadline approaching, the design team moved away from complex exterior forms. Instead, they carefully refined spatial details, extracted local cultural elements, and developed a distinctive, modern, eco-friendly industrial building image.
△ View of the factory from the entrance and exit
△ Factory building and its reflection
△ Overall project view
△ Overall project view
△ Before and after renovation comparison
#01 Cultural Strategy:
Wuxi Water Culture and Classical Garden Tradition
Our design philosophy emphasizes that architecture must fully consider its location’s characteristics. We extract architectural forms and spatial elements from regional culture to create emotional resonance between people and the built environment, making architecture a meaningful cultural carrier.
Wuxi has long been a land of abundance, boasting beautiful landscapes and rich cultural heritage, often called the “Pearl of Taihu Lake.” Situated on the south bank of the Yangtze River, north of Taihu Lake, and along the canal, Wuxi benefits from rapid circulation of information and goods, fostering swift economic development. We aimed to create a soft, beautiful architectural image reflecting the “Jiangnan tenderness” and embodying the essence of the “Pearl of Taihu Lake.”
Classical garden culture is integral to Wuxi’s identity. Jichang Garden, one of the four famous Jiangnan gardens, embodies over 2,000 years of Wu culture. It celebrates joy, benevolence, wisdom, and harmony with nature, focusing on the relationship between mountains and water. The garden’s composition aligns mountains, water, and architecture in parallel, making water a vital part of the view from any angle.
Our project site is rectangular with a wide horizontal frontage and a strip-shaped landscape area before the main building. We applied Jichang Garden’s composition concept: the foreground features water (water scenery and curtain wall), the middle ground showcases the building (white walls and curved roofs), and the background represents mountains (black walls), as if the garden itself has been constructed. This approach echoes classical Chinese landscape painting techniques, imbuing the garden with both ancient and artistic significance.
Conceptual diagram
#02 Volume Strategy: Additions
Waste incineration power plants are large-scale facilities with clearly defined functional volumes due to their process flow and equipment needs. The Xidong plant comprises three incineration lines, a steam turbine room, and a production office area, forming a combination of front and rear, as well as small and large volumes, presenting a “two-level” height relationship on the facade.
The two main factory buildings are situated close together, separated by a central road facing the plant entrance. Given existing constraints, we adopted a limited intervention strategy by connecting Phase I and Phase II buildings with corridor blocks. Drawing from the sloping roofs of Jiangnan residences, we abstracted and unified this element to create a cohesive facade image for both phases.
Because of process equipment requirements, the building height approaches 60 meters. Designing a full sloping roof would increase the overall height, making the plant appear taller. Instead, we attached a “herringbone” curved slope element resembling eaves to the exterior wall and applied a dark gray color on the upper wall, creating a strong contrast with the white walls below. This design achieves the traditional “pink walls and black tiles” look without increasing height. The extended eaves reflect on the water landscape, shimmering and accentuating the building’s unique character.
△ Zigzag slope detail on the wall
△ Design generation process
#03 Construction Strategy: Practicality
Construction is a core aspect of our work, and abstract design language gains true meaning only when materials and details are carefully selected. To minimize waste from unnecessary decoration, the main facade material is low-cost vertical corrugated color steel plate. This common industrial building material offers excellent weather resistance and ease of maintenance. Aluminum panels are used for decorative details, leveraging their flexibility to achieve curved forms.
During the Phase I building renovation, we preserved the window positions and most of the purlins, replacing only the old glass and outer color steel plates. This approach ensured continuity between Phase I and Phase II while significantly reducing construction time and costs.
△ Phase I renovation
△ Phase I renovation
△ Facade materials
#04 Communication Strategy: Persistence and Compromise
Thanks to the owners’ trust, the design phase proceeded smoothly. However, during construction, differences arose between designers and owners regarding the renovation of the old factory buildings.
The connecting corridor and herringbone slope envisioned in the plan required structural reinforcement of the Phase I building, which posed construction challenges near the main building. Additionally, the slope’s weight needed support from Phase I’s roof, impacting operations and increasing costs.
To address these issues, a lighter, protruding herringbone slope was introduced and hung on the high factory wall, significantly reducing construction complexity.
This revision affected the visual continuity between the two factory phases. Nonetheless, from a construction perspective, the corridor now mimics that of classical gardens, with the corridor and office areas extending along the facade. The originally prominent control room was overly conspicuous and lacked harmony with the overall design. This compromise reflects a necessary adjustment driven by construction constraints.
Compromise is an inevitable part of any design and construction process. Owner demands can positively influence design decisions. When disagreements occur, architects must thoughtfully balance the perspectives of both owners and users. Such compromises demonstrate professional ethics and adaptability in architectural practice.
#05 Conclusion
The Xidong Environmental Protection Power Plant project is now complete. Without resorting to exaggerated forms or costly materials, the design achieves a unique architectural style through functional form, precise incorporation of local culture, and strict quality control — all while managing costs effectively.
The interplay of urban style, natural landscape, and historical culture shapes the emotional connection between region and architecture. Wuxi, celebrated for its remarkable people and environment, has provided rich cultural inspiration for this design. Our goal was to create a waste incineration power plant with a distinct regional identity that the public can accept and even appreciate, enabling advanced treatment technologies to function smoothly.
△ View of the factory building from the dormitory roof
Project drawings
△ General layout plan
△ Functional space analysis
△ South elevation of Phase II
△ North elevation of Phase II
△ Sectional BIM model of Phase II
Project Information
Project Name: Xidong Domestic Waste Incineration Power Plant Upgrading and Expansion Project
Project Type: Industrial Building
Designer: Guangzhou Huake Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. (WeTech)
Design Phase: October 2019
Completion Date: October 2022
Design Team: Wu Yuqiong (Lead), Liang Wenlong, Guan Dingli, Li Xin, Li Fangfang, Wu Shaoze, Zhang Xueqian, Wang Haifan, Li Zongcan, Cai Xiaobo
Project Location: Xishan District, Wuxi City
Building Area: 101,580 square meters
Photography Credits: WeTech, Guangguo Environmental Protection Energy (Wuxi) Co., Ltd
Client: Guangguo Environmental Protection Energy (Wuxi) Co., Ltd
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