Liantang-Heung Yuen Wai Passenger Terminal Building / EDIT! Architecture

By: Lidija Grozdanic | June - 26 - 2011

The competition for the Passenger Terminal Building connecting Hong Kong with Shenzhen City closed on 21. March 2011. The two-stage competition included an online public survey in deciding on the winners. The aim was to create an urban landmark, structurally enabling the continuation of the existing traffic flow and connecting the banks of Shenzhen River.
Designed by Prague-based EDIT! Architecture, the proposal attempts to reconcile the iconic character of the building with the functional requirements of the site. Fallowing the visual imperative of fluidity, immanent to transportation structures, the design uses both horizontal and vertical transformation of rounded forms. The build­ing entrances are empha­sized by lift­ing of the vol­umes, leading to arrival and departure halls on the first floor. Offices and ser­vice spaces are located on the sides of both halls and also on two floors above orga­nized around the cen­tral atri­ums, which illu­mi­nate the inside of the build­ing and allow a visual con­tact between the dif­fer­ent lev­els. The green roof is terraced thus evoking the typical South China landscape.
The trape­zoidal cladding of the façade cre­ates an ever chang­ing appear­ance and articulates the programs within the building. The pan­els of the same size are made in the same color grade. Part of the facade is equipped with com­puter controlled open­ings that can be opened to sup­port the air cir­cu­la­tion inside the build­ing based on the cur­rent wind flow in the loca­tion.
Due to technical complication in submitting the entry package, the project was not included in the official competition. However, its strong imagery and distinct approach in creating make it a relevant.