UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND GLOBAL CHANGE INSTITUTE BY HASSELL

The Global Change Institute is a $32 million building designed by HASSELL which meets the world’s most advanced levels of sustainability.

The building demonstrates sustainable technological research and pilots innovative sustainable building solutions. The building has been designed to work with the natural environment and will operate as a zero-energy and carbon neutral workplace.

It will be naturally ventilated for most of the year and generate and store all its own power on-site through renewable solar energy sources that are pollution-free. All excess power will be delivered back to the national grid.

The GCI Building also represents the first Australian use of structural Geopolymer concrete, a low-carbon product produced with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than conventional concrete.

The building moves away from a framework of consumption of the world’s resources to one that contributes to the restoration and regeneration of the environment.

It will also act as a live research site, with the building systems and occupants used to assess optimal comfort conditions in low-energy buildings for the sub-tropics.

The building features an operable sun shading system that tracks the sun and protects the glass louvres which encourage natural ventilation. The air flows across occupied spaces to the central atrium which acts as the building’s lungs, discharging warm air through its thermal chimney.

The translucent ETFE atrium roof allows natural light into the interior while insulating from the sun’s heat. Optimal natural lighting is supported by environmentally-friendly LED lighting.

The building is cooled with chilled water flushed through the exposed sculptural precast floor panels. Rainwater storage of 60,000 litres services the hydronic cooling system, kitchen and shower.

A green wall, bush tucker garden and bio-retention basin breathe life into the building’s green ethos, and UQ’s St Lucia campus pedestrian links provide easy access by foot or bike.

Location: Brisbane QLD, Australia 
Architects: HASSELL 
Area: 3,865 sqm 
Year: 2013 
Photographs: Angus Martin

HAITANG BAY INTERNATIONAL SHOPPING CENTRE BY HASSELL

The HASSELL team has been awarded the interior design project of the world's largest duty-free store in Sanya, Hainan. Known as China Sanya Haitang Bay International Shopping Centre, the project will be developed in three phases by CITS (Beijing) Investment Development and CDF (Group). Phase 1 will have a total area of 120,000 sqm, or the size of 17 football fields. When completed in 2014, the project will be the largest duty-free shopping centre in the world.

The design by HASSELL is inspired by the natural scenery of Sanya. The shopping centre is divided into five areas, each inspired by the ocean, crab-apple, flowers, fruit and nature. In the near future, approximately 30 hotels will be built in the coastal area of Haitang Bay with the Haitang Bay International Shopping Centre as its centre. The Sanya government has listed China Sanya Haitang Bay International Shopping Centre and the 301 Hospital as the two most important development projects in Sanya.

Haitang Bay in Sanya is a key development area in Hainan Island, which is China's first international tax-free tourism destination. CITS Group, the mother company of CITS officially signed the "International Duty Free Town" strategic co-operation framework agreement with Haitang Bay management committee in end 2010. Sanya Haitang Bay International Shopping Centre has a total investment of 3.45 billion RMB.

The project will be developed in three phases. Phase 1 mainly as an international shopping centre with a GFA of 120,000 sqm – 80% of the area in use will be occupied by duty free stores while the remaining area will be used for duty-charging commodities and supporting F&B. Phase 1 will be launched in mid 2014. Phase 2 will focus on the lake islet to build large F&B, cultural and entertainment facilities; Phase 3 will include customised luxury product centres and museums.

Location: Sanya, China

Architect: Hassell

Area: 120,000 sqm

Year: 2014

Client: CITS (Beijing) Investment Development / CDF (Group) Co

Status: Work in progress

CRONTON COLLIERY BY HASSELL

HASSELL was one of four finalists shortlisted in the Royal Institute of British Architects competition to design a new visitor destination on a disused coal mine – the former Cronton Colliery at Knowsley near Manchester.

 

The four were shortlisted from 50 designers who submitted proposals for the site. The RIBA and the Land Trust, which will operate the site, announced HASSELL as one of the runners-up in the competition in April 2012. The HASSELL vision for the site is for a world class, sustainable park. At its heart is a new community and new connections to the surrounding countryside and its communities.

The park would be a vibrant place for current and future generations to enjoy - engaging the community and visitors in activities that reinforce the significance of the place while showing how natural and urban areas can co-exist in a positive and sustainable way. The Colliery site is a landscape of subtle contrasts, characterised by a beautiful palette of colours and textures. With each change of season, the grasslands and Birch backdrop colour palette shifts ever so subtly. It is from this aspect of the site that the materiality of the buildings and proposal are drawn.

The master plan for Cronton recognised the extensive land remediation and revegetation works that have been carried out over many years. The existing site vegetation and its associated wildlife habitat would be preserved, protected and enhanced. The proposal also sought to revitalise the Cronton Colliery site through a phased introduction of proven community amenities overlaid with a new managed activities program.

Allotments and a new community centre would draw community members to the site. This would occur together with more commercial opportunities including sustainable housing and eco-tourism in the form of an ecologically designed hotel, conference centre, spa and restaurant that draws on the produce of the surrounding countryside.

In parallel, a visitor centre would link to the history of the site and provide opportunities for education, as well as opportunities for flexible commercial space. As a result, members of the community and visitors would use the site daily, rather than simply 'passing through'. This would foster a stewardship of the site.

PALM ISLAND BY HASSELL

The Palm Island project is a series of five ‘floating islands’ situated in northern Chongqing, China, on the banks of Qing Nian Reservoir and the Palm Spring Geological Park Lake.

The ‘floating islands’ form a new hospitality precinct within the Palm Springs International Garden complex and include five restaurants and a teahouse.

The design was inspired by the geography of Chongqing, which sits at the meeting points of the mighty Yangtze and Jialing rivers and the site conceptually and visually connects the reservoir and the lake.

Water is the key design element, and combined with careful consideration of light, creates ever-changing reflections. Patrons at each restaurant enjoy views of natural water vistas on one side and a private ‘water courtyard’ on the other, integrated visually through the creation of an infinity pool-style water platform.

This gives the architectural impression that the buildings are floating on water when viewed from afar. The elevated water platforms conceal the operational aspects of the restaurants such as parking, loading areas and kitchens.

This allows the public aspects of these dining zones to be revealed above the waterline so that patrons are able to fully appreciate the water views in all directions. These platforms also allow flow-through ventilation and plenty of natural light to pour into the restaurants.

Although the architecture is ‘frozen in time’, there are several aspects that create sequential experiences. The curved forms of the building and crystal-like glass structure produce continuously changing reflections.

Strong wave patterns appear in the facade, which is made from an aluminum screen featuring white vertical rods, with a crystal-like glass structure and an external white ceramic covering, of varying thickness.

Together, the curved forms and the facade alter the visual density depending on the viewer’s perspective. The rigid but fluid patterns of the white rods are viewed through reflections from the water, with the movement of the water ‘vibrating’ the straight lines.

During the day, the sunlit rods are highlighted against the dark tiles under the water, evoking a musical quality, and in the evening the effect is further enhanced by artificial lighting to create a dreamlike quality.

Location: Chongqing, China

Architects: Hassell

Area: 9,600 sqm

Year: 2012

Client: Chongqing Palm Springs Real Estate Development

Photographs: Luo Wen, Zhang Qianxi