Sweco is a Swedish provider of international consulting engineering services whose engineers, architects and environmental experts are working together to contribute to the creation of a sustainable society.
A recent assignment in China is Xijin Times Center, a new emerging area next to the Western Railway Station in the Chinese city of Jinan.
Under the project, Sweco is responsible for conceptual design including exteriors and floor plans for the new buildings. The company has previously developed a master plan for the area, and the new office park is expected to be completed in 2017. The project’s value is approximately SEK 20 million for the first stage.
Xijin Times Center consists of 16 towers in total, with the upper floors mainly consisting of offices and hotels. Restaurants and shops are strategically located on the ground floors along the park trail, which forms the common car-free pedestrian meeting point.
Ben Clay, architect at Sweco, gives further details.
“The area will be 800,000 square meters of offices, hotels and commercial premises. Our mission involves being responsible for the detailed planning and architectural design of all the buildings and landscapes. Sweco’s vision for the project is a socially functional business park for small and medium-sized technology companies. We create a city within a city, with landscaping and buildings in harmony.”
“The new district is adjacent to the new railway station for high speed trains, which is an important hub between Beijing and Shanghai. We help to solve the growing provincial capital Jinan’s need of a new large office area of high international standard.”
The concept, he says, is based on that the four blocks get a common inner park path, which spatially and socially connects the entire area.
“Everything’s car-based in China so it is difficult to walk in the cities with their large-scale gated neighbourhoods. By connecting the area through the landscaping between the buildings, we create an environment for meetings between people with good links to public transport. It encourages collective trips and walks instead of always taking the car. We have also worked on energy efficient solutions for buildings where the customer’s ambition has kept increasing during the project. Now the buildings in the first phase will become LEED-certified ; aiming at Gold.
“During our 15 years in China, Sweco has worked with high level politicians and decision-makers on architecture and urban design. In this project we are helping the growing provincial capital of Jinan solve its need for a large new office park of high international standard,” says Jan Mattsson, President of Sweco Architects.
Sweco offers qualified consulting services with high knowledge content, often in the early stages of client projects, and has projects currently underway in some 80 countries worldwide.
