Beijing’s port city of Tianjin is a critical centre for trade and commerce in Northern China and has, over time, also risen to become one of the world’s most active international shipping ports.

Today, redevelopment plans for Tianjin are underway to reinvigorate the riverbanks through new uses and an enhanced urban centre.

Riverside 66 by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates is one such project. One of the longest single structures in China stretching over 350 metres, the retail shopping destination aims to activate the regenerated riverfront as it rethinks the role of China’s urban market

The building’s materials are designed to promote transparency and allow the interior program to engage the surrounding streets. The circulation is intentionally porous with frequent active entries along the streets that allow the building to operate much like a modern version of a traditional bustling merchant setting.

The project’s central atrium operates as a public plaza as well as a vertical concourse to the building’s upper skystreet, and directly links the Hai He River with Tianjin’s main pedestrian street, He Ping Lu. Notably, the shell’s concrete and glass structure curves dramatically upward from the riverside and converges with the opposing south façade to yield a six-storey building that meets the context of the Heping District.

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
www.kpf.com