Golden Leaf Gardens | 2018

Shanghai, China

Architects: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Client: China Overseas Land and Investment (COLI)

Golden Leaf Gardens is a landmark project designed to create a new neighborhood that functions as the center of the vibrant new Zhenru Central Business District, an innovation cluster that has deep connections to the historic Zhenru Region, the larger Putuo District, and the overall City of Shanghai.

The design approach weaves together a neighborhood and a park in a sustainable next-generation mixed-use development.

Three site connectivity elements that are important to the project:
1. The ancient ginkgo tree: preservation and celebration across the entire project site;
2. The Zhenru Ecological Watercourse: an important connection that is historically tied to the Wusong and Huangpu Rivers as part of the larger Yangtze River Delta;
3. The new Zhenru Ecological Park: a natural asset that connects the neighborhood to a growing urban landscape.

Project elements are positioned to intelligently terrace inward along the new connections, creating unique spaces for activity and environments that help the park connect to the surrounding environment.

The new Zhenru CBD will be a vibrant and exceptional development, one that is intelligently planned and created for people with a multi-generational lifestyle that is knit into the larger community, creating an unmistakably unique sense of place.

As we look toward the future of collaborative commercial work and retail space, the role of technology has become as important as the integration of the natural environment into the workplace.

To stimulate and innovate, a space needs to aspire to a range of qualities — inspirational, collaborative, reflective, harmonious, and even private, all with the goal of increasing the well-being of the user. The goal is to create indoor and outdoor spaces which will:
• Create a Unique Retail Experience
• Create Responsive and Adaptable Spaces
• Promote Collaboration
• Foster Community
• Provide Choice
• Connect to Nature
• Ensure Comfort
• Increase Productivity.

Based on the site layout, solar orientation, view, and connectivity to green space, the design provides the optimized site plan when considering vehicles and pedestrians, employees and visitors, VIP, and service deliveries. The architectural design creates optimized massing for a social atrium amenity and cultural space, as landmark features in the towers.

Flexible retail spaces provide conventional mall floor space that is also re-programmable for future changes in the retail requirements. The main towers are designed with occupant comfort in mind.

The double-wall system allows the creation of indoor spaces that are well lit — without glare — and are thermally comfortable because of automated solar management and can provide natural ventilation when external conditions are favorable.

Internally, the atria provide access to interior green spaces, while generating opportunities for unique meeting spaces. Best in class, quiet IoT-connected natural ventilation, centralized high purity air filtration, and digital fan coil units help control the indoor environment.

Green roofs are accessible at multiple levels of the tower and become a natural connection to the park and are the basis for the sponge city rainwater management strategy.

Designed to be highly sustainable, Golden Leaf Gardens sets a new standard for commercial and retail buildings in the city. The project will manage 100% of its rainwater on-site, supporting a robust approach to resiliency.

The buildings are designed to be certified under the USGBC’s LEED rating scheme as LEED Platinum for core and shell. The retail concept strives to create unique experiences for users that are supported by carefully considered architectural moments.

Functioning as a multi-generational culture, leisure, and fashion lifestyle center, activity nodes with planned events and social spaces invite users to engage in their surroundings and participate as members of the new community.

The nature of the nearby park finds its way into the project via the terraced rooftop experience. Outdoor and indoor garden terraces create maximum retail exposure and support a variety of activities and experiences.

The programming produces a dynamic and stimulating environment with outdoor working spaces, private restaurant patios, quiet reflection corners, sculpture gardens, and educational exhibit areas for tenants and visitors. The site’s activity will overflow into the residential neighborhoods and other sites of the master plan.

A key component to the success of the retail program relies on its overall strategy of flexibility. The design of modular “pods” lets the retailer tenant determine size and configuration.

Future programs can be created as the market dictates, such as educational maker spaces or innovative co-working spaces.

The design currently allocates new program types into a cultural program strategy that integrates art programs, exhibitions, and educational spaces, in addition to traditional gallery spaces. The overall geometry enables views to and from the retail program from multiple vantage points, giving high visibility to retail tenants and connecting spaces across the masterplan and into the surrounding neighborhood.