Shanghai's REN Building 上海"人"字型建築

TWO BUILDINGS IN ONE

(A proposal yet to be realized??)

The REN Building is a proposal for a hotel, sports and conference center for the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The building is conceived as two buildings merging into one.

這個「人」字造型建築，據報導是上海為2010年世貿體育及會議中心而建的飯店，基本上是由兩棟建築構成。The first building, emerging from the water, is devoted to the activities of the body, and houses the sports and water culture center.

設計的概念來自丹麥首都哥本哈根的Bjarke Ingels設計小組提出，使用漢字「人」作為創意靈感，兩棟建築分別象徵大腦與軀體，從遠處看很巧妙地組合在一起，形成一個中文「人」字。 The second building emerging from land, is devoted to the spirit and enlightenment, and houses the conference center and meeting facilities. The two buildings meet in a 1000 room hotel, a building for living and form the Chinese character for 'People', becoming a recognizable landmark for the World Expo in China.

據資料這組「人」字造型建築，一棟由黃浦江水面浮出，是體育館、水上運動及文化中心，一棟由地面建起，是會議中心及住宅，兩棟建築在1000個房間的飯店大廳處結合，形成個中文「人」字。Together, the two buildings become a tower and an arch at once. The arch defines a square for gatherings and activities, exactly on the main axis of the expo site overlooking the HuangPu River. The square is sheltered from the rain but allows sunlight through, from the east in the morning and from the west in the evening.
Large curved plazas border the pool and conference buildings, creating a continuous recreational public space along the river.

Round openings and skylights bring light to the auditoriums and pools and gradually become denser as they rise from the river, eventually becoming windows and terraces for the hotel rooms.
The project questions whether architecture can embody the schizophrenic political identity of the People's Republic of China at once: Tao, Mao and Khao (Capitalism). A modernist slab is cleaved in two, forming the Chinese character for 'People'.

The principle of Yin Yang and the five elements of Feng Shui are embedded in the architecture, creating a link between the ancient wisdom and the contemporary dynamism of Chinese culture.

The REN building could be the Eiffel Tower of Shanghai, a landmark symbolising the people-oriented pursuit of the Shanghai Expo 2010.