Botanical Garden Visitor Center

The visitor centre stands in Baoding Botanical Garden, in the north of Baoding, with the city’s North Second Ring Road to the south and the garden’s main landscape axis to the west. The site covers 18,000 m²; the building has a total floor area of about 26,000 m² and a height of 12 m. Within the dot Architects team, Yuming Bai was responsible for design development, the physical model and construction negotiation.

Aerial rendering of the terraced building with planted roofs and an entrance plaza

Stretching the box

A conventional box would break the garden landscape. The design stretches the box open to create space between its bands, mirrors the result so the two forms intersect, lets the entrance start at ground level and rise gradually, and pulls the top floor back on all sides to form terraces.

Six-step massing diagram, from a plain box to a stretched and terraced form

Lit physical model at night, seen from ground level Lit physical model seen from above, showing the courtyards cut into the roof

Programme

Above an underground garage, the building holds dining, service space, a playground, a child-size city, a supermarket, visitor rest areas and botanical science displays.

Ground floor plan with the stepped entrance landscape and parking

Long section through the terraces and the underground garage

Construction

These photographs were taken on site in November 2014. Kids Dream is a separate project that follows on from this one.

Panorama of the building under construction, with Kids Dream signage on the roof

Curved glazed courtyard during construction