GDA Plaza

In the traditional business center of Hangzhou, the Chinese metropolis of 9 million people, the extended GDA Plaza hotel and business center has been reopened. As part of a redesign and extension, the existing complex with hotel and shopping mall was recreated and made into a completely new unit. After gmp had won the competition in 2007, the practice was commissioned with the design and implementation. The GDA Plaza was substantially extended by a new 28-story building, whilst the existing main building was retained as far as possible but completely reorganized. This has created additional offices and commercial premises, as well as new leisure facilities such as cinemas and restaurants.

In order to achieve a uniform architectural effect for the entire building complex, the new building has been linked with the existing ones via a ten-story plinth. Recesses emphasize the points of transition between the old and new parts of the building. The facade design supports this effect. The curved facade dynamically envelops the entire building, creating flowing transitions between the clad old area and the new building. All construction work was carried out while operation of the shopping mall and hotel continued.