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MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

China Architecture News - Dec 18, 2017 - 02:06   22796 views

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

Architectural photographer Iwan Baan has captured MAD's fluid-formed Chaoyang Park Plaza in August's summer heat and humid climate, depicting pictures' heaviness in the air. 

MAD invited Iwan Baan, one of the world-renowned photographers, to recapture the new mixed-use complex, including six separated structures with residential, commercial and offices functions. 

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

The 220,000-square-metre Chaoyang Park Plaza completed earlier this month is comprised of smooth, curved surfaces that create a calming and surreal atmosphere. Regardless of its formal and structural details, Baan's photography show catches the buildings in different atmospheric conditions rather than ideal photographic projections.

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

Inspired by traditional Chinese ink landscape paintings, the project translates natural forms into large-scale architectural spaces and introduces them into the urban context. With the grey atmosphere looming, Iwan Baan was able to capture MAD’s design in a way that evokes a different mood.

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

"In his images, Chaoyang Park Plaza, even with its soft, organic lines, and poetic silhouette, offer a very strong visual contrast to its surrounding urban setting. Iwan’s photos show how MAD’s design confronts Beijing’s central business district, in a way that makes it distinct from the typical box-like towers positioned around it," said the studio.

"We have the opportunity to try and create a different kind of city, that on a spiritual and cultural level, can be compared to the classical cities like Beijing, that are of Eastern philosophy and wisdom, said Ma Yansong, founder of MAD.

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

Situated on the southern edge of Beijing's Chaoyang Park - the largest remaining park in Beijing's central business district area - the 220,000-square-metre complex includes 10 buildings which unfold as a classic Shanshui painting on an urban scale. 

Having a similar position and function as Central Park in Manhattan, but unlike the modern box-like buildings that only create a separation between the park and the city, "Chaoyang Park Plaza" instead is an expansion of nature. 

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

"It is an extension of the park into the city, naturalizing the CBD’s strong artificial skyline, borrowing scenery from a distant landscape - a classical approach to Chinese garden architecture, where nature and architecture blend into one another," said MAD.

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

The small-scale, low-rise commercial buildings appear as mountain rocks that have endured long-term erosion. They seem to be randomly placed, but their strategic relationship to one another forms a secluded, but open urban garden, offering a place where people can meet within nature in the middle of the city.

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

The two multi-story Armani apartments to the southwest continue this concept of "open air living" with their staggered balconies, offering each residential unit more opportunities to be exposed to natural sunlight, and ultimately feel a particular closeness to nature.

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

The overall environment is shaped by smooth, curved surfaces of black and white, creating a quiet and mysterious atmosphere. It is one that evokes the emotion and aesthetic resonance of a traditional Chinese ink painting, creating a tranquil escape from the surrounding, bustling urban environment. 

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

MAD's Chaoyang Park Plaza in Beijing recaptured by Iwan Baan

Architectural photographer Khoo Guo Jie also captured the first images of the project in September, which shows the project is nearing completion. MAD recently completed new residential apartments in China’s Anhui province, featuring a series of undulated floor plates with recessed facades and balconies to mimic the existing topographic lines of the immediate mountainous terrain. 

All images © Iwan Baan 

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