Green Town

The 'Green Town' housing project is located in a green district for the Chinese middle classes, outside the fifth orbital road in the South-Eastern part of Beijing and at a distance of about 15 kilometres from the business district. Its main program consists of 4.500 m2 community centre with lobby, restaurant, gym, dance hall, children's daycare, swimming pool, tennis courts on the roof, internetcafé and library, 3.500 m2, residences and car park on a 21 ha housing development. The residential blocks were given a skin of variously coloured brick inset with sun lounges, balconies and terraces. Uniformity in materials and the repetitive use of private outdoor spaces contribute to the area’s cohesion.

The community centre, which is traditionally an essential component of Chinese residential areas, contains a swimming pool, a restaurant, bars, an internet café, a sports  and a dance hall, sauna, daycare facilities, a library and two tennis courts on the roof. The building is situated on the central scenic axis of Green Town, with its main entrance on a traffic thoroughfare and the rear situated overlooking a sunken garden. The ground floor is completely transparent, open and inviting. Elevated above, a red, concrete volume with facade reliefs of daisies and tulips accommodates all facilities and is accessed via a large, central stairway