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We all know that buildings don't always turn out like the renderings. Last-minute changes and real-life materials can all cause discrepancies between the vision and reality of a project. In our weekly Flash Forward Friday feature, we take a look at how different projects stack up.
Zaha Hadid's signature style of architecture is immediately identifiable, her sinuous designs are often coloured bright white with frequent use of glass and aluminum. When a three-tower development was proposed in Beijing, it exhibited all the characteristics of a classic Hadid design. At heights of 200, 127, and 118 metres, Wangjing SOHO now hosts office and retail space within a mountain-like complex of fluid aluminum ribbons and glass. Emphasizing the movement of the sun, wind, and the city, approximately 60,000 square metres of green space thread through the towers, creating a new publicly accessible landmark for the Chaoyang District.
Initial renderings for the project painted a different picture though. They portrayed a two-tower development, with the taller tower much higher than the one that was eventually built. Height concerns stymied this iteration, forcing a redraw of the development that then came in the form of three buildings. These illustrations were much closer to what was actually built, though they employed a stronger curvilinear aesthetic, with both a sloping and twisting architectural expression.
Another refinement would mark the finalized design of the project. Renderings displayed how the relationship between each convex form would play out, the tallest tower being set back furthest from the fronting curved street. With massing partially inspired by the anatomy of Koi fish, the project's organic shape presented a clear-cut contrast to the neighbouring rectilinear office and housing blocks. A canyon of retail shops and pavilions produces a lively shopping street, while two sunken gardens connect to a below-grade commercial concourse.
Completed in 2014, the project stayed true to the latest illustrations. While it's not unusual for projects of this magnitude to undergo some value engineering, Wangjing SOHO faithfully executed the vision that was settled on. Today, the complex stands as a beacon for travellers approaching and leaving Beijing Capital International Airport, a sure sign to tourists that the Chinese capital isn't afraid to push traditional structural boundaries.
We will return next Friday with another comparison!
