Construction starts on OMA’s Xinhu Hangzhou Prism building in China

Dutch firm the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) has announced the start of construction on the Xinhu Hangzhou Prism.

Located in Hangzhou’s new Technology Central Business District (CBD) in China, the project is being led by architects Chris van Duijn and Michalis Hadjistyllis.

According to OMA, Hangzhou is developing into a hub for China’s technology companies such as Alibaba Group Holding and NetEase.

OMA’s Xinhu Hangzhou Prism is a 50,000m² pyramid-shaped mixed-use building that will comprise a hotel, lofts, retail space and an atrium garden.

The design features two radical oblique cuts through the building envelope, forming terraced lofts with picturesque views.

The interior space has a garden with water features and playgrounds for the public.

The Prism is complemented by the neighbouring 35,000m² residential tower that reflects the geometry of a prism in its façade.

Chris van Duijn said: “Xinhu Hangzhou Prism will encourage the development of a creative community in the new CBD of Hangzhou. The design enables flexible programming and a broad repertoire of communal outdoor spaces, while maintaining a strong visual identity: striking in its form, archetypical yet contemporary.”

The project was commissioned by Zhejiang Xinhu Haichuang Group and is anticipated to be completed in 2020.

In a separate development, OMA-designed two new towers at Greenpoint Landing in the US were unveiled by Brookfield Properties and Park Tower Group earlier this month.