Inovance Automotive Headquarter
Location: Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
Function: Research Office
Surface: 300,000 sq.m
Date: 2024
Mission: Architecture
Client: Inovance Automotive
Designer: Wau
The project is themed around innovation, nature, and community, with a design emphasis on flexibility and unique experiences to foster collaboration and co-creation.
1. Natural elements permeate the entire space, featuring a central garden on the west side and a rooftop garden on the east, connected by terraced office areas in the middle. This layout provides diverse office scenarios and a dynamic spatial experience with changing views.
2. Functional reorganization integrates offices, laboratories, and discussion areas, enriching the usage scenarios.
3. The central garden spans the site, complemented by terraced green terraces, offering a nature-friendly environment and versatile leisure spaces.
4. The research building adopts a large plinth design, combining laboratories with informal office spaces to create terraced areas that connect the ground-level garden with the rooftop garden, promoting interaction and serendipitous encounters between departments.
Functional Zoning Strategy
1. Comprehensive office, R&D office, and R&D laboratory—are relatively clearly delineated, ensuring that each section can operate efficiently and maintain close connections while remaining independent and free from interference.
2. The creative workshop provides flexible and open office spaces as well as comfortable and relaxing leisure areas for everyone.
The central courtyard garden, combined with the open ground floor, maximizes visual permeability on the first level, creating the openness of a community park. This is a creative garden that facilitates the transition for employees from the urban scale to the office scale. The central courtyard also serves as a transportation hub, connecting administrative offices, R&D laboratories, and the Phase II factory. Within this lush green space, it provides supporting amenities such as coffee shops, fitness areas, dining facilities, and meeting spaces.
1. Shared zones are integrated on every floor of the creative workshop, connecting the parking area and the R&D laboratories to form a highly efficient and managed spatial layout.
2. The laboratory section, adjacent to the creative workshop, utilizes perforated aluminum panels to meet daylighting requirements.
3. The laboratories are designed for quick and convenient access to the creative workshop, providing direct facilitation for R&D discussions and fostering the generation of innovative ideas.
Roof Space - Multi-Level Activity Platforms Connected in Series
The rooftop garden and sports field, combined with functions such as a café and meeting spaces, create a place that fosters a sense of community among employees.
1. A shared walkway is designed along the river, allowing quick access from high-rise offices to the rooftop garden, running track, and basketball court.
2. All rooftop platforms are interconnected, forming a fully equipped ecological park.
Standard Floor Space Strategy for Office Area
1. A double-height balcony is designed on the south side, with a 3-meter-wide balcony on odd-numbered floors and a 1.2-meter-wide balcony on even-numbered floors, offering excellent views from the elevated balconies.
2. The balconies are equipped with folding doors, which can integrate with the indoor space to create a large activity area. Additionally, a spiral staircase connects the upper and lower floors, enhancing vertical circulation.
3. The south facade incorporates solar panels as shading devices, directing views toward the central courtyard and creating a pleasant atmosphere. This design not only meets green energy efficiency requirements but also aligns with the image of a new energy enterprise.