XiXi Artist Clubhouse by AZL architects

The XiXi Artist Clubhouse by Chinese firm, AZL architects is located in the XiXi wetlands to the west of Hangzhou, China’s fourth largest metropolitan area, famous for the beauty of its countryside.



AZL architects took up the challenge to construct an artists’ village in a location where nature appears at her best: the XiXi wetlands, a famous national park inviting tourists and nature lovers, located just outside Hangzhou in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang.



The location was selected to provide inspiration for the artists and designers who will be living in the community, formed of a cluster of five, 800-square metre buildings.





These clusters have a central wing and two arms reaching out to the landscape, with each part in a Y shape, making everything look compact and cubed. The interiors feature continuous surfaces and layered fibreglass installations for a unique sensorial experience that invites complete freedom and offers a unique visual of the wetlands.





Diffused and even sunlight filters in through the translucent white polycarbonate panels used to clad part of the five white volumes. At the same time, this design idea devised by AZL architects also makes the XiXi Artist Clubhouses glow at night, when they look like the famous Chinese paper lanterns that magically light up these ancient wetlands.





A residential complex that truly engages with nature, which forms the heart of the project and is a source of inspiration for the artists-in-residence.

Location: Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
Architect in Charge: Zhang Lei - AZL architects
Project Team: Zhang Lei, Qi wei, Zhong Guanqiu, Zhang Guangwei, Guo Donghai 
Collaborator: Architectural Design Institute, ZJIU
Project Area: 4000 sqm
Project year: 2008-2011
Photographs: Yao Li