According to media reports, the Hangzhou Ring Dream Center (designed by LWK +PARTNERS) in the core area of Hangzhou Xiaoshan Science and Technology City has successfully passed its final completion acceptance. This mixed-use complex, which integrates “museum genes” with innovative commercial scenarios, outlines a new vision forfuture urban life through a design philosophy of technology and nature co-existence. The project is expected to begin trial operation in Q3 2025 and is set to become a new commercial and cultural landmark on the south bank of the Qiantang River.

LWK Senior Design Director Hou Kailong

In a dialogue with “Nature Podcast,” Principal Designer Hou Kailong provided an in-depth interpretation of the project’s design logic: “We hope to break the enclosed feeling of a typical commercial complex, allowing the architecture to become a medium that connects the city, nature, and culture.”

Natural ecology and urban culture have always been symbiotic. The development and vitality of cities and architecture are inseparable from the natural environment. Returning to the highly efficient modern urban system, we long for and embrace nature. More and more projects choose to build near waterfronts and create urban parks. Introducing nature into the community to create a healthy and livable cultural environment is an inevitable future trend.

We achieved this through two main methods. First is spatial permeability, emphasizing an overlapping and permeable relationship with the city’s boundaries. The Hangzhou Ring Dream Center site is adjacent to a riverfront space, and the U-shape of the building itself brings the entire riverfront landscape into our domain, forming a strong interactive relationship with the community. Second is the interaction between nature and technology. For example, the aforementioned “Wormhole Universe” is the core experiential zone, which significantly enhances the project’s interactivity.

The initial concept for our architecture was themed around science and natural ecology, telling the story of humanity and natural science. By combining these two elements through modern commercial logic, we created the only commercial experiential space in Xiaoshan themed around parent-child recreation and nature popularization education, establishing it as a core regional landmark.

The four themed spaces—Oasis Miracle, Dune Adventure, Wormhole Universe, and Future Utopia—are connected by a human experiential journey. It starts with the ecological crisis caused by environmental damage to the Oasis scene, moving into the desertified world faced by humanity, and then traveling through a space-time wormhole to the Future Utopia.

Indoor landscape elements, signage, and lighting reinforce the immersive experience in each space. The Oasis Scene is near the Xianfeng River, echoing the natural river ecology and integrating with the commercial areas along the river. Rammed earth-textured building façades create the image of mountains and green valleys. The resulting ecological crisis leads to the Dune Adventure world, where shallow brown rammed earth-textured façades immerse visitors in a sandy dune scenario.

The Wormhole Universe, located in the project’s core area, uses a spiral ETFE skin and an aperture background. At night, combined with dynamic lighting and projections, it creates a unique, futuristic visual experience. In the final stop, Future Utopia, visitors can witness the “super migration” under civilization’s revival, featuring over 170 animal specimens donated by the Global Health and Education Foundation.

First, we created a biodiverse environment through the integration and permeation of the river system, waterways, and the park. Second, we focused on selecting environmentally friendly, low-carbon materials for the architecture. Specifically, the rammed earth material used for the façade was the result of a year-long research and development effort by the team, involving repeated experiments to finally create a rammed earth material that matched the design concept and adapted to Hangzhou’s local climate. We hope to create an architectural model for low-carbon, ecological, and environmentally friendly construction that is typical for Hangzhou and even China.

From a cultural perspective, Hangzhou is often perceived as gentle, beautiful, and full of historical depth. The team investigated many project materials, from brightly colored bricks and panels to numerous buildings that strongly echoed local culture. They found that many of these used rammed earth, which presents a feeling that perfectly aligns with Hangzhou’s characteristics. Therefore, we ultimately selected rammed earth as the material cornerstone for the entire project.

The core feature of the entire project is the Wormhole Universe installation. It is a pioneering large-scale commercial interactive installation in China and internationally, utilizing the highly design-forward ETFE material. Combined with a spiral lighting design and a swirling backdrop, and manifested on the ground floor as a spiral, twisting landscape column that seems to be pulling up from the earth, it gives a strong sense of technological atmosphere.

The area beneath the dynamic Wormhole Universe installation is a courtyard ground-level structure. It forms a spiral tensioned space, where the entire ground and landscape are designed to feel like they are spiraling upwards, eventually focusing on the landscape column, as if the ground is twisting and rising. It is a rare example of a design style that integrates the ground, wall, and landscape, and I encourage everyone to experience it when it opens.