Named for the 394-foot-long tile roof that is its most identifying feature, Tiles Hill is the culmination of a dozen years’ work by Amateur Architecture Studio on the Xiangshan Central Campus of the China Academy of Art (CAA) in Hangzhou. A reception center for faculty, visiting professors, and students and their parents, the visually kinetic building is the last of two dozen projects designed by Amateur—the firm run by Pritzker Prize–winner Wang Shu and his wife and partner Lu Wenyu—for the academy at which he serves as head of the architecture department. The collection of dormitories, classrooms, offices, and other academic facilities shows a progressive refinement in the studio’s work from its first building there in 2002. Wang led the design of the project, while Lu took charge of realizing it. “For this final project, I wanted to express my deep understanding of the Chinese spirit,” say Wang. “Maybe I touched it this time.”
The 67,000-square-foot Tiles Hill is wedged between a wooded hill to the north and a narrow river to the south. Museums by Alvaro Siza and Kengo Kuma, the only new campus buildings not designed by Amateur, are under construction nearby. Tiles Hill contains an eclectic set of uses in four sections that ascend in height from east to west: an intimate tearoom; meeting rooms for 160, 50, and 30 people; a dining room for professors and a restaurant for visitors; and a guesthouse with 28 rooms.
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