This building is an exhibition complex facility planned for a park on the bank of Yong River that runs through the center of Ningpo City in Zhenjiang Province, China. A newly planned cluster of office buildings lies on its inland side. Due to these buildings, it was thought necessary to maintain a sense of continuity without dividing the elongated park along the river by beautifying the scenery below without blocking the view of the river and setting up a form that is integrated with the land in the area where the inland and the river merge.

The park along Yong River is planned with a promenade for the citizens as an outdoor space for exercise such as jogging and tai chi. The main part of the building is the display space on both wings with a ceiling height of 8 to 10 meters, which is used for exhibitions on urban development and citizens’ activities, and there are such services as a cafeteria for people participating in civil activities and visiting the park. The parking area on the lower side of the landscape surrounding the building is designed so that visitors can use the facility easily and has a loading space for carrying in and out large items.

The building and the land are integrated by the addition of a podium to the volume of the structure while imparting a gate quality so that the building does not separate the park from the city. The approach side, therefore, slopes up gently from the street in front and leads to the main gate, so when a visitor passes through the gate, a view of Yong River and the scenery across the river unfold. The long wings in the entire building enclose the ground below elliptically to form a plaza where various events and civic activities can be held. With this plaza as the center, the promenade along the river is drawn-in in a spiral form, and is also guided by the promenade at the top of the building with a height of 15 meters above ground, forming a viewing deck that commands the view of Yong River and scenery on the other side of the river.

The Jiangnan Region where Ningbo City is located has historically been an area blessed with an abundance of water. With this plan as well, we aimed to provide rich public spaces where people can gather and use freely while admiring the flow of Yong River and the affluence of its water.

By drawing in Yong River and the park laid alongside it into the scene and setting a gate extending from the inland city to the river, the plan to be an interface where the city and nature coexist.