Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates Form New Pedestrian Greenway Westlake 66

Westlake 66 – Situated at the point of connection between West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Grand Canal, Westlake 66 seeks to contribute to its neighborhood with five office towers, a boutique hotel, public parks, and an active, mixed-use podium. To address the many changing urban conditions of this growing city and emerging technology hub, the scheme forms a new green pedestrian link between West Lake and the Grand Canal, Hangzhou’s two essential landmarks, and provides office space suited to technology startups and young professionals.

Architizer chatted with Jeffrey A. Kenoff, Principal, AIA at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates to learn more about this project.

Architizer: What inspired the initial concept for your design?

Jeffrey A. Kenoff: The concept for the project was instigated by the challenges of the site, which is positioned behind a main boulevard and nestled between a series of over scaled buildings. The design capitalizes on this seclusion and the need to redirect pedestrian flow by carving an active greenway through the site. This green space connects the project’s four inner blocks with terraced towers and echoes the richness, datum, and scale of West Lake and its surrounding mountains.

What do you believe is the most unique or ‘standout’ component of the project?

At the upper floors, new office space opens onto a large green roof that extends the length of the podium, creating a new public sky park for the city.

What was the greatest design challenge you faced during the project, and how did you navigate it?

The greatest challenge for the building was crafting a wall for a potentially everchanging program in the podium. Inspired by the many stone walls along the West Lake, the wall is designed in sinuous bands of rectangular cells that tie the site together. Each cell responds to the program within and can be updated over the lifespan of the building.

Team Members

Design Principal: Jeffrey Kenoff | Managing Principals: Peter Gross, Andrew Cleary | Senior Designers: Minho Jeon, Rodney Bell, Katsunori Shigemi | Job Captains: Yee Tak Lau (China), Eric Engdahl (US) | Team: Frankie Au, Wenxin Chen, Yijie Hu, Ki Yong Lee, Ronald Wong, Sherry Xiao, Elie Boutros, Milo Wan, Tait Kaplan.

Client: Hang Lung Properties

For more on Westlake 66, please visit the in-depth project page on Architizer.