Nanopolis

Suzhou has set itself the target of closing the gap on the world’s leaders as a research and development location. Alongside the Biobay biotechnology park in the west of the city, Nanotech City marks another key element in that strategy. The program includes a total of 1.3 million square metres of floor area.

The first construction phase includes 400,000 square metres of floor space for research and development – including laboratories with the highest clean room standard – as well as production and prototype development. Oriented inwards they frame a landscaped courtyard area called “knowledge garden” to inspire new ideas. In the centre office towers, restaurants, shops and a conference centre are planned.

The creative leitmotif of the design is the relationship of scale between the molecular world, man and urban space. All elements of urban, architectural and landscape design range in density, size and height from the very large to the very small. The fractal logic of the division into units of diminishing size continues from the urban scale down to the facades, where elements of local architecture are reflected in aspects such as colour and structure.