Loft49 Creative Park

The irregular site boundaries bear witness to Hangzhou’s multi-layered urban development history, sandwiched between the transformed 1960s industrial heritage of the original LOFT 49 Creative Park to the south and 1990s residential neighborhoods to the north. Confronted with the challenge of integrating 36,600 square meters of new construction within the existing urban fabric, we transformed this urban fault into an opportunity, creating a dynamic hub that connects history,
creativity, and community life.

Embracing the core concept of a “social catalyst,” the design prioritizes the creation of a 6,000-square-meter “Triangular
Central Park” that serves as a community living room. This space functions both as a leisure garden and weekend market
for surrounding residents while providing a shared platform for creative communities. This publicspace-first strategy naturally shaped the building mass into an “L-shaped block,” combining point towers and slab structures to create 4-6.5 meter high creative office spaces, perfectly embodying Aaam’s mission of empowering communities through architecture.

The design employs negative spaces - sky gardens, setback terraces, and viewing corridors - to break down the building mass, creating a series of “urban windows” facing the industrial heritage. The façade uses warm red terracotta panels that echo the brick heritage, accented with blue louvers and silver aluminum panels to enhance visual lightness. Groundlevel double-frontage retail and community cultural spaces activate the street, while a second-level elevated walkway system connects office volumes, creating semi-outdoor co-working environments that foster continuous interaction among creatives and the public.

Since its completion in July 2021, LOFT 49 has successfully attracted architecture, landscape, and multimedia design studios, revitalizing the area through events like TED talks. The project’s most significant achievement demonstrates that urban regeneration can simultaneously accomplish heritage preservation, community integration, and economic vitality, providing a successful paradigm for the symbiotic development of creative clusters and complex urban environments.