LA Architects Making the World Better: Thom Mayne Goes to China

LA Architects Making the World Better is our irregularly scheduled look at projects around the globe designed by LA-based architects. Today, we show you Morphosis' Giant Group Pharmaceutical Campus in Shanghai.

Architectural Record goes into superfluous archi-speak in its description of the Morphosis designed Giant Group Pharmaceutical Campus in Shanghai. The 258,000 square-foot corporate headquarters will span a four lane highway, and appears to break from Morphosis' typical boxy, gray, straight edge designs (see Caltrans HQ, SF Federal Bldg) by using lots of curves. Via AR:

Geometrically idiosyncratic, the building combines braced steel moment frames, for the cantilevers, with concrete-and-steel structure, for low-lying elements. As a hybrid—not just structurally, but also formally and programmatically—the scheme successfully “adapted to dynamic change” during the design process, when, says project manager Tim Christ, the client decided to emphasize its computer-games subsidiary, rather than its pharmaceutical division, as originally planned.

Translation coming later.
· Morphosis Pushes Boundaries with First Project in China [Architectural Record]
· LA Architects Making the World Better: Work On Serpentine Gallery Pavillion Continues [Curbed LA]For more stories from Curbed LA, go to la.curbed.com.

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