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West Village

Jiakun architects

Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation

Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation
Beijing, China

The site of West Village sits in middle of sweeping residential communities. Theland is used for community sports activities - a plot ratio of 2.0 is allowed,with 40 percent coverage and the maximum height of 24 metres. Our task is to build an urban complex. Is it going to be a monolithic edifice centralizing thearea or a collective combo containing diverse public spaces? This is our choice to make.  Is it possible to transfer the all-consuming nature of capitalism into a win-win case of sharing? To thrive onthe gathering of often overlooked daily life contents? To regain the initiative of today’s vulnerable public spaces? To keep on the traditional cultural genesin contemporary cities? To turn the marketplace scene into art? This is our challenge.
Unlike typical centripetal commercial complexes, West Village adopts a centrifugallayout that encircles the entire block to maximize the inner area of sports andgreen. The vast park-styled courtyard forms a green basin containing diversepublic life; meanwhile it is a representation of the original low-landlandscape of Sichuan Basin - in both natural and cultural sense. Smaller bamboocourtyards exist within bigger ones; and they are open to public and visitorscan walk through freely. The spatial design carries on the ever-popular leisure lifestyle among locals and refreshes their former collective memories. West Village's functional structure provides individuals with customizable spaces,their diverse expressions are integrated by the large scale of courtyard. In this way, the inner façade eventually becomes a parade of marketplaces cenarios. An elevated runway entwined the whole courtyard, connecting eachfloors from the underground to the roof. It brings excitements of unusual experiences, especially for joggers and cyclists; meanwhile gives the project adynamic look.
West village is a monumental attempt to assemble everyday leisure activities andresponds to people's real appeal and simple dreams in the lost space. It isable to sustain and develop itself yet vitalize the public life of externalsurrounding communities.

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  • Title: West Village
  • Creator: Jiakun architects
Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation

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