Shaded courtyards, indoor natural ventilation, and the choreography of cooling breezes through architectural massing are all ancient techniques for modulating heat and humidity. The Midea clubhouse combines ancient environmental strategies with modern architectural gestures that invert notions of what a golf clubhouse should look like, and in turn reflect an open-minded attitude toward a western sport that is only now beginning to become popular in China.
The unique program combines a golf clubhouse, public dining and entertainment venues, hotel rooms, and a private corporate retreat. The mix of public and private corporate functions has proven to have high social value for the clients’ internal population and for the public. Executive guestrooms share space with the outdoor common area courtyards, allowing the various population groups to interact in outdoor common areas, contributing to a heightened sense of community.
The site plan addresses strategies of integration with the surrounding conditions, unifying natural and built environments. Prior to the new clubhouse construction, an existing road bifurcated the site and a former under-used fish farm belied an ambivalent attitude toward the landscape. By simultaneously raising the building, partially depressing the road below new green space, and transforming a neglected pond into a water feature that flows beneath occupied space, natural and man-made elements present a contrasting, yet balanced environment.
Few building types are as ingrained with Western European architectural traditions as a golf course clubhouse. Privacy, exclusivity, and privilege are underlying tenets that have given rise to generations of golf clubhouses that would observe, rather than interact with, their surroundings. The Midea Clubhouse rethinks previous Western golf clubhouse design traditions and replaces them with a series of gestures that embrace traditional values and the surrounding landscape. By embracing nature, views, and environmental comfort, the design reflects a growing awareness of environmental stewardship in China.
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