Hangzhou, a metropolis pursuing modernity, is known in both China and abroad for its wealth of historical and cultural charm. The city already has many high-quality architectural masterpieces which are set to mushroom in the next two years, making it a firm favorite with architecture enthusiasts.

China International Design Museum (中国国际设计博物馆)
Location: Xiangshan Campus of China Academy of Art
Architect: Alvaro Siza
Time to open: April 8^th, 2018

The designer of the museum, Alvaro Siza, is a Portuguese architect and a big name in the field of architecture. His works have won a lot of honors, such as the The Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is dubbed as “the Noble Prize in the field of architecture”, European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, and the Prince of Wales Prize in Urban Design from Harvard University.


As the most popular contemporary architecture master, Alvaro Siza is known by all for his sculpture-like architecture works, which are often described as “poetic modernism”. When he won the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 1992, the Jury described his forms as “molded by light, [with] a deceptive simplicity about them; they are honest.”

The design of China International Design Museum is also themed on simplicity but with every detail carefully designed. Take its façade for example, which is paved by Indian-imported red sandstone and shows distinct colors on rainy and sunny days. The inner design of the museum is also simple and brightly lit, despite there being no trace of any light bulbs.

Hangzhou Headquarters of JNBY (江南布衣杭州总部)
Location: the intersection of Tianmushan Road and Gudun Road, Xihu District (西湖区天目山路古墩路口)
Architect: Renzo Piano
Time to open: 2018


The Hangzhou Headquarters of JNBY is designed by the famous architect, Renzo Piano, whose representative work is the Georges Pompidou Centre. JNBY Headquarters is his first project in China. When finished, it will be a new-concept art zone combining business, shows, art centers, private art galleries and office buildings. In addition to decorating rooftops with China-native tea trees, the façade of the architecture will be afforested, making it one of the greenest architectural masterpieces in Hangzhou.

EFC (Euro America Financial Center) UK Center (EFC英国中心)
Location: Central Business District of the Future Technology City (未来科技城)
Architect: Norman Foster
Time to open: 2018

Norman Foster, the winner of the 21^st Pritzker Architecture Prize, is one of the most outstanding architects in the world and is the representative of “High-Tech” architecture, also known as Structural Expressionism - a type of Late Modern architectural style that emerged in the 1970s that incorporates elements of high-tech industry and technology into building design.


His previous work in Hangzhou includes the Apple Park (flagship store of Apple) beside the West Lake. The EFC UK Center, to be designed by Norman Foster, is composed of two 220-meter-tall twin towers, joined by a canopy and bridge space spanning across the road between them, allowing free and easy circulation of people between the two towers.