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Background

A historically agrarian region to the west of the site features terraced farming fields carved into the countryside. Sympathetic to the natural topography, these terraces flow visually, connecting the context with a simple holistic gesture. The building form of SKD reflects this visual flow and geographic step to connect contextually to the site, yet it also serves to connect the users to the outdoors. The terraced podium offers multiple outdoor roof gardens, each with unique attributes, to encourage patients and physicians alike to go outside and immerse themselves in the natural garden environment.

A deep overhanging trellis traces the perimeter of the podium floors, providing shade to enhance the microclimate of the outdoor spaces while protecting the expansive glazing from direct solar gain in the summer season. Tuned shading at each level of the podium also provides more optimal daylighting within the enclosed spaces, mitigating glare and overly bright conditions. This allows for reduction in artificial lighting levels for certain spaces and creates a healthier environment for patients and caregivers alike.

The Design Solution

Inspired by the microscopic structure of crystalline synthetic insulin, a scientific medical development pioneered by researchers at the Shanghai Institute for Organic Chemistry in 1965, the tower façade connects the progressive medicine practiced by SKD physicians with the history of medical science in the city. The abstraction of this crystalline structure is manifest in a texture of metal panels across the façade—faceted and angled to respond to changing external lighting conditions in a way that is analogous to the shimmering of a microscopic crystal structure.