First Section of Heatherwick Studio’s Combined-Use Growth 1,000 Timber Opens in Shanghai

First Phase of Heatherwick Studio’s Mixed-Use Development 1,000 Trees Opens in Shanghai

The first phase in the development of Heatherick Studio’s 1,000 Trees project in Shanghai was recently inaugurated, showcasing the finished mountain-like structure. The design gives prominence to the structural columns, each topped by a large planter featuring a tree, which becomes the project’s main feature. Balancing the requirements for a dense development with the search for a human scale, Heatherick Studio chose to approach the project as “a visual extension” of the neighbouring park, proposing a new topography defined by its integrated greenery.

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Developer Tian An commissioned the studio to design a mixed-use development on a six-hectare site located 20 minutes from downtown Shanghai next to the M50 arts district. Bordered by imposing residential towers, the plot incorporating several historic buildings is split in two by a strip of government land. The site’s conditions were translated into two distinct structures that aim to break away with the imposing mass of the neighbouring developments.

The orthogonal grid of structural columns becomes the defining feature of the design, providing the opportunity to integrate extensive planting within the development. Each pillar is topped by a planter, the structure featuring more than 70 different tree species. The resulting cluster of volumes with varying heights contains car parking, office spaces, shops, a school, hotel rooms and art galleries. The historic buildings will be integrated as focal points within the new development.

Eight years in the making, the project’s first phase opened with a lighting ceremony on December 22, with a press conference including the design team scheduled for later this month. The second phase of the development is currently under construction and is scheduled for opening in two years.