The Alibaba Xixi Campus-Park C project in Hangzhou will be defined by a landscape that breaks new ground, creating an ecologically rich working environment.
ASPECT Studios has won the international design competition for Alibaba’s Headquarters (Park C) Campus Project in Hangzhou. The design inspiration comes from the Xixi Wetland, an icon of Hangzhou. Based on the unique local ecological texture, ASPECT created a design proposal focused on an interconnected network of layered design systems. Water, biodiversity, people and culture come together in a webbed network of experience and natural beauty to create a stimulating and engaging campus environment for over 30,000 Alibaba staff.
With a focus on sustainable solutions, the design at its core looks to support the objectives of China’s target of being carbon neutral by 2060. To achieve this, standard approaches to design, construction and operation needed to be reconsidered. For ASPECT Studios’ Shanghai team, this focus gave birth to the “BioHabiNet” concept. The BioHabiNet system is a project-specific evidence-based design approach to achieve an interwoven network of biodiversity, protected natural habitat, sustainable water systems and a community-orientated framework of places for people to engage with each other and nature.
A design for people
Understanding the unique culture of Alibaba and its focus on the community led the team to envisage a people oriented campus that defines a specific program to support a healthy, active lifestyle while at the same time generating opportunities for campus staff to engage with nature on multiple levels. These humanistic systems are defined by three principal strategies – health, social, and work – each defined and embraced by nature overlaid with a site-wide system of interactive technology.
The new campus landscape creates a comfortable network of spaces by drawing the natural characteristics of the area into the heart of the complex. By creating a series of outdoor spaces immersed in natural beauty, ASPECT’s design reflects Alibaba’s vision of a people-oriented place that welcomes everyone.
Carbon-positive design
The winning design demonstrates deep thinking about how to build and operate a substantial campus landscape using carbon-positive design principles. ASPECT’s approach endeavours to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that result from producing, transporting, and installing building materials. Wherever possible, local, recycled and sustainably-produced materials have been used and is complemented by a green urban forest and extensive indigenous planting schedule.
Alibaba Xixi Campus-Park C project positions the campus as an interactive, immersive and iconic tech campus that supports Alibaba’s cutting-edge work. ASPECT’s winning proposal is under construction.
Alibaba Xixi campus – Park C
Client: Alibaba
Landscape architecture: ASPECT Studios
Principal Landscape Architect: Stephen Buckle (Studio Director and Creative director of ASPECT Studios)
Design team: Ann Yang, Sam Xu, Karen Feng, Haining Feng, Cherry Lei, Jay Yang, Lemon Liao, Pigeons Chua, Honghui Zhang, Leo Ding, Yoyo Zhang
Images Credit: ASPECT Studios