West Bund Orbit rises on Shanghai’s West Bund waterfront beside the Huangpu River in Xuhui District. The building is designed as a public exhibition hall and riverfront marker for the area’s new Financial Hub. Interwoven ribbon-like bands wrap the structure and transform into stairs, bridges, terraces, and viewing platforms. Visitors can approach from all sides and move up and around the building through continuous routes. The circulation leads to a rooftop garden with views across the river and the West Bund area. The form draws from traditional Chinese moon bridges, stretched into continuous circular motion with bands that tighten and open as they curve around the building.
"“The Orbit was a nice surprise when walking along the West Bund river walk,” he says, describing the structure as radical in design but approachable in scale. In a city so often framed through height, towers, and skyline, the project draws attention by staying close to the body. Its presence comes through movement, access, and the invitation to climb."
"The team at Heatherwick Studio has shaped the building around a central exhibition hall, wrapping it in a façade of interwoven ribbons that become stairs, bridges, terraces, and viewing platforms. These routes allow visitors to move up and around the structure, eventually reaching a rooftop garden with views across the river and West Bund area. The building can be approached from all sides, turning the exterior into part of the visit."
"The Orbit takes its cue from traditional Chinese moon bridges, with the reference stretched into a continuous circular motion. The curved bands bend around the building, tightening and opening as they move. Glazed openings"
Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine
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