Located in the Pudong district of Shanghai, the new research campus for the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research forms an island settlement of laboratory facilities, office buildings and associated amenities surrounded by waterways, with a communal garden at its heart. The new ‘Welcome centre’ is located at the entrance of the campus.
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The building seeks to reconcile Chinese and Western traditions and root this hinterland site within the wider urban community and its multi-national workforce. To this end, we engaged with numerous references: the proportions and tectonic order are inspired by buildings of the colonial period which are an important element of the city’s morphology, while the building’s materiality is rooted in indigenous construction techniques and local clay-based materials. The spatial concept for the interior was inspired by the organisation of large country houses such as Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.
The concept design for the interiors was carried out in collaboration with Studio Ilse, while the detailed design and fit-out of the interiors was completed by the client in collaboration with local consultants.
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Welcome centre and office building, Pudong,
Shanghai, China, 2016
