Gardens grace a Roche’s first factory in Asia
{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"8000","speed":"1000","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}
{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"8000","speed":"1000","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}

DETAILS

LocationSuzhou, China
ClientSkidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Size18 acres (site); 13 acres (landscape)

As the first manufacturing facility in Asia, Roche Diagnostics hopes to set a model for future projects in the region. Located in Suzhou, a city with a strong tradition of gardening, this flagship factory will not only meet Roche’s global standard, but will be infused with the spirit of the city’s gardens, distinguishing it from a stereotypical factory. A clear layout ensures that complex transportation and production flows function well. Three lateral streets are given different characters according to their locations and functions, and are strung together along one central spine. Three gardens will accommodate all future phases of development, anticipated to stretch over 10 years.

 

A central garden alongside the campus cafe interprets typical gardens of the region in a fresh, modern style, introducing a loop of sequenced spaces with seasonally changing views and providing an outdoor respite for workers.

Related Projects

Exxon Corporate Headquarters

Exxon’s Corporate Headquarters is situated on 200 acres of rolling mesquite woodland in Texas’ Las Colinas Development. The design captures the essence of a subtle Texas landscape by careful selection of native plants and preservation of existing woodland and wetland areas. The building itself is surrounded by a more “domestic” landscape within a forest ...

Symantec Chengdu

SWA provided landscape design for Symantec’s research and development complex. The site was previously inactive and banal until SWA’s design reinvigorated the area, linking the building program and connecting the site to the larger city. The landscape design produces a “brocade,” weaving together the building and site program, and offering an oasis amid the de...

Poly Future City

As the first phase of a large development along a new subway line in Beijing, Poly Future City suggests what’s to come. A sleek sales center features an interactive landscape with water features punctuating its pavilions, which boast WiFi, heated seating, and power outlets, all solar-powered. For this temporary building and landscape, SWA took care to invest i...

Tian’An Cyber Park

Established in 1990, Tian’An Cyber Park is the biggest industrial real estate investment company in China, providing flexible and affordable office space that allows hundreds of entrepreneurs to grow and thrive. The strategically placed park in Longgang is a multi-functional development with retail and office space, an I-MAX cinema, and headquarters for multip...

Poly Future City

As the first phase of a large development along a new subway line in Beijing, Poly Future City suggests what’s to come. A sleek sales center features an interactive landscape with water features punctuating its pavilions, which boast WiFi, heated seating, and power outlets, all solar-powered. For this temporary building and landscape, SWA took care to invest i...

Lite-On Headquarters

This major Taiwanese electronics company chose Taipei’s “Electronics Center” overlooking the Gee Long River for their new headquarters. The overall concept is of a 25-story slender tower rising above a sloped landscape podium that covers much of the site. Below-grade parking slopes toward the river on one side, with the urban center on the ot...

100 Altair

As an office infill project in San Francisco’s South Bay region, 100 Altair reflects the shift in framing workplace landscapes. The roof deck functions primarily as outdoor workspaces, sized for large team meetings and private one-on-one conversations, amidst a modern, high-design aesthetic. The project design aims to reach out into its surrounding context, wh...

Poly Dawangjing Office Complex

SWA’s landscape design for the Poly Dawangjing Office Building Complex draws on fluidity, suggesting pebbles (the development’s three towers) set within the intersection of two waterway corridors. The landscape forms of the drop-off courts, central arrival plaza, and planting areas are also characteristic of this fluvial influence. Broad ribbons of riparian ve...