Design Description:
Designed as a permanent show gallery & tourist information center for China's largest developer Vanke, MOD's design for the TRIPLE V GALLERY is located along the Dong Jiang Bay coastline in Tianjin China. The client's program called for 3 main spaces: a tourist information center, a show gallery & a lounge for sales discussion. Requiring their own entrances, the tourist center and the show gallery had to be orientated towards separate existing pedestrian pathways and also operated independently.

Despite its obvious sculptural qualities, the building's DNA evolved rationally from a careful analysis of key contextual & programmatic perimeters. The solution merged structure, sculpture, and space into a single form - resulting in the TRIPLE V GALLERY'S triangulated floor plan as well as the 3 soaring edges that have come to define its form.

By stretching it in three directions, we were able to orient it to different views and accommodate a trio of uses. Sitting on a concrete plaza, the gallery's zig-zag form and rugged Corten steel shell provides visual relief of an otherwise flat landscape. Two of the building's upturned corners signal the entrance portals, whilst the third corner provides a view towards the seafront. In both plan and section, the design appears to set the gallery in motion. From the outside, the building could almost be a sharp-prowed ship slicing through the plaza. On the inside, space flows gracefully from the corners to the center, where the client displays information on development for sale.

Materials are paired in contrast to each other such as Corten steel and glass on the exterior of the Triple V Gallery, white-oak walls and ceilings with cement floors in the interiors. An extension of the show gallery, the lounge area is where discussions are conducted. This space takes advantage of the panoramic views of the coastline and comprises a sculptural bar counter. Tectonically, the building responds to the coastal setting and is finished in weather-sensitive corten steel panels on its exterior and timber strips on the interior walls and ceiling for a more natural feel.

Client Testimonial:
“The design of Vanke Triple V Gallery by MOD not only responded magnificently to the nature of the project brief but also breathes life to the contextual surroundings that appeals to all. We are very impressed at how MOD integrated the various design disciplines, i.e. architecture, landscape and interiors to provide a coherent holistic design. In the initial stages, the discussion of using Corten steel was a deep concern for us, in this climate and environment. However, both the design and project management teams of MOD successfully worked rigorously with us and the LDI to ensure that the end product can match the initial vision. Overall, it has been a successful project that fulfils our design as well as economic brief.”
—Mr Zhao Liang

Awards:
Certificate of Excellence, Commercial and Retail Category, 2013 at Perspective Awards, Hong Kong
Finalist, Civic Buildings Award, 2012 at World Architecture News Design Awards, United Kingdom
Finalist, Design of the Year, 2012 at President’s Design Award, Singapore
Finalist, Architecture, Display Category, 2012 at World Architecture Festival, Singapore
Winner, Silver, New Commercial Building Category, 2012 at International Design Awards, USA