Ascentage Pharma

Ascentage Pharma

Design: 2018-2019
Construction: 2019-2022

Ascentage Pharmaceutical Headquarters is a new research and manufacturing complex in Suzhou, China, for a growing pharmaceutical company. Reflecting the aspirations of Ascentage’s cutting-edge work in biotechnology, the state-of-the-art campus was realized using some of the most advanced digital design and fabrication tools available. The 80-meter-tall research and administration building—the new symbol of Ascentage—stands prominently on Xinqing Road near a mass-transit subway station.

Open, clean, and modern, the seven buildings take the form of discrete curvilinear shapes—soft in nature and elevated above glass bases, appearing to float above a reflecting pool clad in black granite.

Each building’s façade is derived from the hexagonal form of a benzene ring, which is then parametrically modeled to wrap each volume. These facades are digitally fabricated using ultra-high-strength concrete panels, and anodized aluminum nodes and extrusions, resulting in a series of unique facades that strike a balance between transparency and privacy.

With high-tech research labs and expansive manufacturing spaces, the carefully programmed composition across the 60,870-square-meter site creates a singular campus and bold new identity for Ascentage’s promising future.

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Anji Play

Design: 2016-2020
Construction: 2018-2022

Nestled at the foot of the Yuhua Jinhua mountains in China’s Zhejiang province, on a site rich in topographic and natural diversity, the new AnjiPlay Kindergarten and International Child Care Center anchors a rural education complex comprising research and teaching spaces, an AnjiPlay Museum, convention center, and dormitories.

Rooted in the principles of Anji Play, a 21st-century early childhood education movement founded by Cheng Xueqin, the design of the Anji Campus introduces open-ended, self-directed play in minimally structured environments, supporting children’s innate capacity for exploration, creativity, and decision-making.

The fundamentals of Cheng Xueqin’s philosophy—that children have a right to space, freedom, discovery, materials, nature, and time—ground the design. The architecture remains deliberately neutral, placing ecology in the foreground and integrating seamless transitions between spaces. The buildings are elemental in form—simple enough for phenomena to be experienced, not dictated, and encouraging children to trust and engage with their environment.

A natural playscape emerges from the site, organized into five clusters connected by a ramp constructed from Anji bamboo. These clusters dissolve into sixteen homerooms that each share a common building block while remaining unique in form. More than just spaces to play, learn, and grow, the homerooms also become a true home for the students.

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Longleaf Art Park

Design: 2021/2024 Construction: 2024/ongoing

Situated in the Watersound Origins development, the 15.5-acre Longleaf Art Park will be a new cultural, educational, and recreational community hub in Walton County, Florida. It’s anchored by a purpose-built pavilion housing the 217-foot long Passage of Time sculpture, a significant masterwork from world-renowned artist Richard Serra. The 17,000-square-foot sculpture pavilion—OLI’s third collaboration with Serra—is a versatile gallery space, accommodating galas, lectures, and special events.

The pavilion’s design is deceptively simple yet highly engineered, carefully detailed to heighten the art experience. All amenities were placed away from the sculpture pavilion, including the reception, visitor parking, and the 20,000-square-foot event space. Strategically contoured berms, formed using fill excavated from the retention pond that protects the surrounding wetlands, visually shield the pavilion, guiding visitors on a journey of discovery.

The pavilion exposes the art piece to the tree canopy, placing it in dialogue with the landscape, and celebrates the site’s history: the native wetland and the subsequent paper-making tradition it cultivated. As with all of Serra’s site-specific works, this relationship to place is central to the experience.

Like the streams and decks that traverse the nearby wetlands, the pavilion is approached from a winding wooden deck that hovers off the ground, echoing the sculpture’s rhythmic form. The turns become more frequent approaching the pavilion, affording the viewer varying glimpses through the columns of the pine forest trunks and the pavilion façade.

The trapezoidal pavilion is entered from glass vestibules located at the concave pockets of the sculpture. The two entrances guide visitors through the pavilion, encouraging an intimate dialogue with the sculpture. From the building’s orientation to the large asymmetric pitched roof, traditional passive strategies rooted in Florida’s vernacular architecture allow for generous expanses of high-performance glazing that further deepen the connection between built form and landscape.

BSM Service Center

Design: 2020-Ongoing
Construction: 2022-Ongoing

Changxing County Xiaopu Town Smart Village Management Service Center is located in the scenic area of Baduqian, Xiaopu Town, Changxing County. It will serve four natural villages, namely, Dajiakou, Panlinan, Fangyan and Fangyi. The building of the service center is located on the shore of Badu Weir. Like a floating village among ginkgo trees, it will provide services to the villagers, and will also become a new landmark and attraction in the Badu Qin scenic area.

The architectural design concept of the service center originates from the beautiful and spectacular ancient ginkgoes in the Baduyan Scenic Area. The central building consists of tall wooden pillars shaped like the trunk of a ginkgo tree, connected by a platform and a roof. The center consists of a cluster of buildings with different functions, connected by a network of columns and lifted up to ensure an unobstructed view of the surrounding water and trees. The buildings with different functions are connected by yellow platforms, among which there are small ginkgo gardens, sun corridors and communication spaces. The roof, supported by wooden columns, is made of polycarbonate, and the ceiling is made of colored wooden strips, where the sunlight is dispersed and shines softly on the ground, as if it were a crystal clear ginkgo tree in autumn.

The largest space is the multi-functional hall, which can hold large wedding banquets of 450 people. The perimeter of the banquet hall is slightly stepped, and the space can be divided or combined to hold events of different scales.

The design will use old wood as much as possible to increase the sustainability of the project and to echo the surrounding ginkgo trees and the old timber frame house. Some structures can be prefabricated and assembled on-site to speed up construction. Wooden structures will also bring a comfortable sense of nature and warmth to people, moving their heart and reducing their stress.

The Smart Village Management Service Center in Xiaopu Town will be an environmentally friendly, comfortable, natural and people-oriented center for villagers and will receive guests from all over the world around the clock, becoming an important landmark attraction in the Badujiao scenic area.

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Luoyang Museum

Design: 2022-2023

The design of the Han and Wei Luoyang City Site Museum places the architecture between earth and sky. It’s built upon history, yet emphatically forward-looking. Drawing inspiration from the urban layout, architectural forms, Chinese calligraphy, sculpture, and landscape traditions of Luoyang during the Han and Wei dynasties of Luoyang, the museum reinterprets these classical elements to create a contemporary cultural space.

Adhering to Han and Wei ancestors’ artistic spirit of shifting from formal resemblance to spiritual resemblance, the design pursues air, rhythm, form and spirit. The result eschews a singular emphasis, rather blending architecture and landscape, straight lines and curves, solid and transparent partitions.

The building’s form is both solemn and elegant with an open, flowing layout. As an international heritage museum, it offers a window into the Han and Wei dynasties to visitors from around the world.

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Pharma 2/3

Pharma 2/3

Design: 2022

Pharma 2

Pharma 3

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Abogen Pharma

Abogen Pharma

Design: 2022

Our concept drew inspiration from Abogen’s research stage work with genomes, understanding them as the foundational building blocks of the human body. The representation of chromosomes are simple geometric forms, links, which when aggregated generate complex geometries and patterns. Each part is a module of the whole, which allows for complex yet controlled scaling. The design for the Abogen center too begins with simple geometries and forms (the building blocks of architecture), which are then deployed across the site at a range of scales to serve different functions creating a beautiful, functional complex from the basis of a simple 60° angle. The HQ and R+D buildings are sited at the intersection of the main road, making them the face of the project, whilst affording views back to the Wusong River. The production buildings are then arrayed around the principal buildings on the east of the site. This creates the opportunity for a protected park space to function as the connector between buildings. This vision synthesizes the fundamental forms of architecture and nature, to create a building complex serving the frontiers of science and biotechnology.

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Guanghui Museum

Guanghui Museum

Design: 2016-2018
Construction: 2022

Anchoring the ring of new civic buildings bordering between the newly-planned Central Park and developing Central Business District, the Chengdu Ink Painting Museum appears like a painting hovering above the undulating mounds of the Central Park. The museum contains an invaluable collection amassed by the founder of the Fortune 500 company of 20th-century Chinese ink wash painting masterpieces, a revered art form practiced by scholar gentlemen and literati and is elevated above a valley landscape reminiscent of the favored subject for many artists.

Looking closer, the valley which cuts across the axis of the residential and commercial headquarters of the Guanghui development is programmed with retail and public amenities, which become the base support of the two-story museum gallery wing that hovers above. The layered walls and partitions of the galleries and open circulation spaces are hidden behind multiple layers on the facade facing the Central Park, the bronze pattern reminiscent of the great ancient bronze civilizations of Chengdu. Within the natural landscape, the galleries face the Central Park reminiscent of Chengdu’s past while the East facade projects toward the glass and steel towers of the Central Business District, the new future of Chengdu.

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Siteman International Oncology Hospital

Siteman International Oncology Hospital

Design: 2019-2021

A new state-of-the-art private medical facility located between the metropolises of Suzhou, Wuxi and Shanghai, the Siteman International Oncology Hospital and Medical Center provides cutting-edge healthcare in a low-density environment integrated with the rich, natural landscapes of the historic Suzhou gardens.

At the foreground of the 128,000 m² complex, a 77,400 m² Oncology Hospital provides surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy and proton beam therapy among other specializations, advanced equipment and technology. Patient wards include 143 single-person rooms, 110 double rooms, 22 intensive care units (ICUs) and related medical treatment facilities. In lieu of a traditional hospital typology, with stacked inpatient and outpatient towers adjacent to a central diagnostic and treatment center, the Huici Suzhou International Hospital and Medical Center distributes inpatient wards and outpatient clinics into low-density complexes within the garden landscape, providing ample natural daylight and views of nature.

To minimize inefficiencies and maximize vital adjacencies, the building complexes are designed at a specific scale to loop around the central diagnostic, treatment and imaging centers. To the north of the site, higher density structures house a 6800 m² Postpartum Care Center, a 13600 m² Rehabilitation Center and a 11400 m² Nursing Center.

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Diageo Jade Complex

Diageo Jade Complex

Design: 2021-2023
Construction: 2022-Ongoing

The Diageo Jade complex is inspired by the tradition of whisky making, and its deep connection to place. Located in a fertile valley in Dali, and fed by pristine natural springs, the Jade whisky made here is born from a rich and beautiful environment. The architecture of the complex takes its cue from this relationship, drawing inspiration from the heritage of Dali and Scottish whisky making traditions, and taking advantage of the biodiverse landscape and spectacular views the site affords.

The architectural concept of the project highlights the experience of nature, by stimulating the senses. We have chosen materials and carved space in order to frame views, control light and amplify sound. The sky, water and air are integral components of the design, along with the earth, stone and planting. Taste, touch, sound and smell are all activated and stimulated through this crafted Jade experience. The Jade complex design is abstracted from the building traditions of Bai/Dali vernacular architecture, and historic Scottish whisky distilleries. These inspirations have a common material palette of rough stone, dark pitched roofs, and whitewashed walls. These materials are formed into a series of courtyard-like spaces, a typology typical in the region, to utilize sustainable practices of cross-ventilation and thermal mass. The long, linear site presents the opportunity to experience a dynamic, sloped landscape, approximately 12m from West to East.

The stone buildings of the Visitor’s Center are low and embedded in the ground along the north approach road, and then once inside dramatically open up to reveal expansive views of the Cangshan Mountains to the south. The building layout is terraced to take advantage of the naturally sloping site and create a dynamic visitor experience to be discovered.

A series of pools and water features are integrated with the Visitor’s Center to emphasize Jade’s deep connection to water. These pools are filled with purified water from the processing of the pristine single malt whisky. This water, along with collected rainwater, is also used to irrigate the lush landscape at the east end of the site, supporting the biodiversity of Yunnan where the original pristine spring water is cycled back into the ecosystem.

The tapered form of the barrel tower is an abstraction, of the famous Three Pagodas of the Chongsheng Temple in Dali. It is jewel-like shape (tapered at the top and bottom) minimizes shade of the peripheral platform below while giving the form a perspectival lift and a taller appearance than the actual height. The barrel tower is clad in tessellated pattern of white hexagonal metal panels, reminiscent of the faceted tiles found in the vernacular “Bai Architecture” of the region.

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Fangsuo Commune

Fangsuo Commune

Design: 2018-2020

Shanghai Fangsuo Culture Center Public Culture Project is located at 1790 Bin Jiang Blvd, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, a traditional industrial shipyard which has been planned by the district government to be transformed to a new cultural and retail destination. Flanked by an OMA exhibition pavilion and a shipyard factory which was adaptively reused into a new conference center by Kengo Kuma, the new Shanghai Fangsuo Cultural Center will be a new cultural bookstore containing, themed zones of books and activity. Proprietary Fangsuo goods and activities of books, stationary, fashion, cafe, kitchen studios, gallery and theater, have been designed adjacent themed marketing tie-ups and retail collaborations throughout the 17,000m2 complex.

The design of the project was inspired by the historical memory of the industrial shipyard and the adjacent Haungpu river, the commerical lifeline to the development of Shanghai. OLI’s design was conceived as two ship hulls creating a spine of bookshelves with themed zones in the never used partially submerged core and shell building. The axial spine with a series of intermittent skylights and three main courtyards connected to flood locks abutting the river, connects the various programmed spaces on either side, allowing the visitors to wander through strategically placed openings and mezzanine bridges. The materials are mainly architectural color concrete, textured blackened steel and terrazzo with specially designed metal bookshelves inspired by ship elements. The East and West entrance canopies and the unique stair elements of the courtyards allowing multiple access points into the retail complex are also incorporated into the ship inspired design.

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Museum of Islamic Art Park

Museum of Islamic Art Park

Design: 2009-2010
Construction: 2010-2012
Design Consultant/Project Designer: Hiroshi Okamoto
Lead Consultant: Pei Partnership Architects

The Museum of Islamic Art Park is a redevelopment project of the 24-hectare man-made landfill surrounding I. M. Pei’s Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. Anchored by a 79-foot, site-specific sculpture by Richard Serra, the park’s five-hectare peninsula includes restaurants, kiosks, and leisure amenities. As the capstone to the Doha Corniche redevelopment, it transforms the city’s seaside promenade into a cultural public park that is accessible 24 hours a day to residents and families alike.

The black granite pier designed for the Serra sculpture—a monolithic chamfered parallelogram—extends from the end of a palm-lined allée, forming a majestic backdrop to the museum. From this vantage point, visitors are treated to panoramic views of Doha Bay and the city’s rapidly transforming skyline. The pier cantilevers 249 feet over the water, creating a powerful tension between its horizontality and the verticality of the sculpture.

On the top floor, Idam, Chef Alain Ducasse’s first restaurant in the Middle East, occupies a new dining space and terrace. Oversized stainless-steel peak doors, low-iron glass panels, and Hauteville French limestone preserve the geometry and material palette of the original museum. At the same time, the space offers a new experience and new views of the city skyline.

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China Silk Embroidery Art Museum

China Silk Embroidery Art Museum

Design: 2010-2014

The China Silk Embroidery Art Museum is located on the west side of Suzhou, China, housing a UNESCO World Heritage Garden and Wang Ao Temple. With the exception of a few large-scale public buildings, the context is residential and richly historic with the history of Suzhou’s embroidery art. The design for the museum distinguishes architectural volumes by different programmatic functions, allocating exhibition space to the Southeast while locating reception functions to the West. Entering through a gate, visitors pass through a glass reception pavilion before circulating through the galleries of artifacts and masterpieces, following the sequential steps of embroidery production: from embroidery design to silk dying, weaving, and mounting for display.

The museum integrates the UNESCO Garden through an array of small-scale volumes within the landscape, expanding further into small courtyards. The space fluctuates through harmonic oppositions, from open to enclosed spaces both narrow and wide. While the embroidery galleries and studios require indirect lighting, the public spaces adjacent to the courtyard access its abundant daylight.

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Haidao Silk Art Culture Park

Haidao Silk Art Culture Park

Design: 2013-2014

Located in Haina, China, about 15km from downtown Haikou, the project responds to the Qiongzhou Straight in which it is situated, the surrounding Wuyuan River Forest Park and the bisecting Central Park. From the onset, volumetric studies of the Haido Silk Art Cultural Park proved invaluable for creating a singular identity from the multiplicity of programmatic elements.

The office towers, hotels and boutique formally resulted from the stacking of individual slabs in relativity to each other and to site zoning, views, and solar orientation. The slabs were expressed on the facade as bands, reminiscent of threads of silk, disclosing the process in the design. In the gradual shortening and lengthening of the white aluminum bands, deep eaves are created, shading against sun exposure and promoting passive cooling. From the Silk Museum to the Special Silk Retail the thread is “woven” between the individual programs, pushing and pulling, shaping terraced landscapes and enveloping a central green courtyard within.

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