In a recently published article, the KPF Principal discusses Westlake 66’s adaptable façade, designed to respond to a mixed-use program that kept shifting during planning, and to keep adapting to whatever conditions the building faces in the future.
“We looked at biology and cellular structures, thinking about how that could be developed into a wall system that could change over the design process and then change over the lifespan of the building,” Jeff told Fast Company.
Situated between two Hangzhou landmarks—West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Grand Canal—Westlake 66 reinvigorates a neighborhood with a verdant new pedestrian link, office space suited to technology startups, a retail mall, and a hotel. The Urban Cell Wall, one of the project’s defining architectural elements, responds simultaneously to changing program requirements, urban visibility conditions, and environmental performance objectives, creating an exponential number of different conditions.
