The primary environmental asset of “Luhu” in this project is water. The planning strategically forms a winding coastline, enhancing the connection between all land parcels and the water. In the first phase of Tianfu Food Island, buildings are arranged along the shoreline, creating a main pedestrian street with key commercial spaces directly facing the water.
During the early spatial planning, we realized that placing buildings directly by the lake would make the lakeshore an exclusive resource for a limited number of tenants. While lakeside locations could command high rents, this would reduce the area’s public accessibility and value. Therefore, we decided to push all buildings to the rear of the site, leaving the lakeside open for public passage in front of the structures.
This layout offers each tenant ample lakeside extension space, providing significant flexibility for management. In Chengdu, where outdoor socializing thrives, the economic value of these spaces rivals that of the indoor building area. The tiered building setbacks and landscaped terraces echo the site’s natural slope and enhance the overall user experience. This design creates a fully public, shared space where everyone—whether dining or strolling—is an active participant.
Inside the buildings, we incorporated numerous shaded eaves and intimate small-scale spaces. These areas invite exploration and allow smaller businesses with modest leasing budgets, but a strong atmosphere, to engage in the vibrant lakeside environment.
We carefully refined the architectural form multiple times to balance unity and individuality for each business. The sloped roofs add depth and variety, with each eave representing a distinct commercial entity. Our goal was to present the building as a cluster rather than a large, isolated “box”—a lakeside community commercial hub, not a generic city commercial center.
The “Tianfu Food Island” project creatively carves and folds the original lakeshore to maximize its use. Everyone in this space, whether consuming or simply enjoying the environment, contributes to shaping a warm, inviting, leisurely, and elegant lakeside atmosphere—the essence we aimed to capture.
Project Drawings
△ Model diagram
△ Model diagram
△ Model diagram
△ Model diagram
△ Base schematic diagram
△ General layout plan
△ First floor plan
△ Section diagram
△ Section diagram
△ Detailed drawing
Project Information
Architect: Surrounding Buildings
Area: 6,000 m²
Project Year: 2023
Photographer: Existence of Architecture – Architectural Photography
Manufacturers: Yijie New Materials Co., Ltd., Mingtai Aluminum Industry, Changxin Board Industry
Lead Designers: Jin Xianshu, Liu Jia
Design Team: Huang Wei, Jiang Ruoqian, Jiang Jialin, Qin Qingke, Zhou Yunjia
Structural Design: Zhang Xiaolong
Construction: Sichuan Tianqin Steel Structure Engineering Co., Ltd
Landscape Design: Yudao Landscape
Lighting: BPI
Client: Chengdu Wanhua Lake Mountain Cultural Tourism
Location: Chengdu
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