The Architecture of Technology and Nature: 9 Unbuilt Projects in the Far East Submitted to ArchDaily

The built environment of Far East Asia is challenging the paradigm through urban developments that are centered around principles of sustainability, community, and user-centric design. Following concerns of high-density neighborhoods and compromised landscapes, architects of that region became aware that building for the future means changing their outlook on financially-driven projects with unsustainable strategies, and replacing them with structures that put the user and the environment at the forefront. 

From an all-around panoramic hotel on The Philippines’s waterfront to an emotion-provoking memorial inspired by the rain in South Korea, this round up of unbuilt projects showcases how architects merged the Far East’s culture, history, and unique geography with contemporary designs, creating state-of-the-art architecture. This round up also includes projects from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Hong Kong.

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Read on to discover nine unbuilt commercial, cultural, and recreational projects in the Far East, along with their descriptions from the architects.

Huabang International Center

10 Design

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The sky deck towers are prominently situated with its north fronting along the simmering Zhujiang River, providing views to the CBD of the Haizhu district and the central axis of Guangzhou. One of the sky deck towers will be trade-marked as Huabang Headquarters, whilst the other tower will accommodate a five star hotel and serviced apartment, totaling approximately 145,000sqm GFA. 

416 Memorial Park & Museum

TheeAe

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The cloud becomes a medium leaving the visual phenomenon through rain as if it’s an expression of sadness or longing of one’s emotion. As such, we hope 416 Memorial Park is to be a symbolic message to deliver healing, recovery, encouragement, and even hope. In our design, 416 Memorial Park consists of symbolic elements such as; extensive glass façade to represent the water of the sea through its transparency; the ceiling formed by the bottom of the ship as if it voyages to ocean; and the 250 LED lighting pillars of the rooftop memorial garden to support and brighten the ship through the darkness.

Hudong Regional Medical Center

Lemanarc SA

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The project is located in Pudong, Shanghai, China, offering a total of 700 beds in a construction area of 169,800 square meters. It is highlighted as an innovative hospital integrating medical, teaching and scientific research. The building is rotated by two “L”-shaped volumes which become two rhythmic buildings. It is composed of three areas: the scientific research and teaching building on the north side, the outpatient medical technology building in the middle, and the inpatient building on the south side.

Ancient Tree Garden

Studio Shanil

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Situated near Ping An village, the Primordial Garden is curated in harmony with nature, which is open for a modest habitat with a view that takes us to a point where it is ripe for a civilization to blossom. One that will respect the way, protect the way and co-exist in harmony. We began by looking at the garden holistically, in a way that nature would have intended it to be. The human habitat forms an element of the garden, completing the whole. To complement such ancientness and purity we had to have a formal language that complements the garden – our approach to this was to see the buildings as primitive entities. The design intent was to transport the users to a world unseen, a magical and ancient world where oneness with the nature, the essence of it is guided and guarded by the trees.

Rethinking: Singhasari Temple

DESIGNbyTANI

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Located in the Special Economic Zone of Singhasari gives the SEZ Singhasari the geostrategic advantage to have a special tourism sector with heritage and historical factors. DESIGNbyTANI’s team is trying to rethink how to modernize the rich history of Singhasari and able to make this place a new icon of Indonesia. 

Development Plan of the Old HANGLAS Site

Lesch-Alfaro Arquitectura, Frank Menichetti, Mizrahi, and Minjun Goh

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Our design for the HANGLAS site provides an iconic new presence at the north of the district. Its distinctive form and ingenious structure setting new parameters for a revitalized living experience and a new way of relating to the environment. The design of the towers maximizes views towards the ocean, respecting the natural form of the site and the adjacent beaches, generating an elastic, malleable quality and permeable dynamism. 

China Fortune Nanjing

10Design

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International architecture practice, 10 Design, has released new plans for one of the largest transport-oriented retail destinations and most complex developments in Nanjing. In 2020, 10 Design won an international design competition to transform developer China Fortune’s 243,768sqm site into a contemporary mixed-use project. In June 2021, the Nanjing Planning Bureau granted planning consent for the project, which is part of the wider redevelopment of the historic Nanjing Dajiaochang military airbase in China. The scheme is an evolution in design of transport-oriented development to create a high-quality retail environment that fully integrates with the rail network and the extensive public realm.

Hue Hotel Wave Front

Takashi Niwa Architects

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The hotel, facing a popular surf spot in the Philippines, is conceived as a pair of curved volume to create a cultural meeting point. Together, they create an opened-arm shape towards the town to welcome the visitors. On the shore side, the stunning panorama opens view to all the surfing activities at the ocean. The Hotel’s site is opened for public access to allow people to become a cultural gathering point of surfing for visiting guests and the locals.

Hong Kong Science Museum & Museum of History

ARTA Architects Limited

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ARTA’s proposal for the façade design of the Hong Kong Museum of History and the Hong Kong Science Museum creates distinctive expressions for the existing portion of each museum while harmoniously fusing both museums together. Pages of books symbolically represents the Museum of History’s role in revealing page by page, chapter by chapter, the stories of Hong Kong’s past, while the façade of the Science Museum is clad with tubular pipes as a conceptual representation of optic fibers to celebrate its importance as the medium for modern communication, and to represent the spirit of innovation.

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