Through a holistic strategy that offers ecological services and develops conscious and healthy ways of living, UNStudio has created an innovative project based on residential towers that, focuses on their relationship with light, materials, air and vegetation, as well as with the closest context, give rise to a large number of spaces that work together to create comfortable and sustainable atmospheres to live in.
The residential project includes a program to respond to future residents of all ages, providing ways to stay active without leaving the neighbourhood, enriching existing and new communities and expanding everyday facilities that unite the idea of the neighbourhood and allow the socialization of its inhabitants.
"18T Mansion" by UNStudio. Photograph by Kris Provoost.
Project description by UNStudio
UNStudio and the developer GuocoLand are celebrating the completion of 18T Mansion in Chongqing, China, a highly human-centric and wellbeing-focused residential development that transforms communal lifestyle, and demonstrates the benefits of historic and contemporary symbiosis. The project was designed to address the growing demand for high-rise living in a densely populated urban centre, while enhancing the quality of the living environment across every layer - from improving the indoor habitat to fostering a sense of community. As a result, the superior 18T Mansion has been established as the first WELL Platinum-certified residential project in Southwest China.
Spanning two plots, the development boasts five residential towers ranging from 16 to 51 stories and comprises 1,046 units in total. It also features healthy amenities, an elevated running track, sky and roof gardens, below- and above-grade parking and lush green landscapes.
”The 18T Mansion represents a transformative urban revitalisation initiative in the heart of Chongqing that is driven by the spirit of revival and innovation. It serves as a pivotal opportunity to enhance living quality by addressing actual needs. Its completion significantly defines a new benchmark for future living spaces and lifestyles in the region, while promoting the health and wellbeing of local residents and the livability of the city.”
Ben van Berkel Founder / Principal Architect, UNStudio.
Revitalising the city and its daily life
The project is central to the Shibati area on the Yuzhong peninsula, a heritage neighbourhood renowned for its historic 18-step reachable well, which once served as the central point of daily life and communal gathering for the area. Having experienced a significant revitalisation, the Shibati area now features 18T Mansion as a cornerstone of this transformation, creating a new vibrant and social living environment in the heart of Chongqing.
This new development not only rejuvenates the old centre - where the facilities were no longer meeting modern needs - to achieve high-quality livability, but also preserves the heritage of the ‘Urban Well’ by integrating it into the design of the residential towers and podiums.
“Our design fosters a new lifestyle that enriches existing and emerging communities. It provides residents of all ages ways to stay active without leaving the neighbourhood, and immerse themselves in historic and cultural experiences. This community expands the possibilities of daily life and connects people through flexible, healthy and green spaces.”
Hannes Pfau, Partner UNStudio.
Community-centered living
Above all, 18T Mansion creates an active and human-centric community that promotes the health and wellbeing of its residents. This is achieved through the inclusion of a wide range of multifunctional communal spaces and wellness-focused facilities that are designed to stimulate diverse activities that meet the needs of all age groups while also promoting a neighbourly culture.
The extensive array of indoor amenities comprises 10 clubhouses, which include several 24/7 ultra-fitness centres, sport centres and heated swimming pools, in addition to children’s playrooms, themed entertainment spaces, art galleries, an infirmary, banqueting halls and more. These shared amenities are distributed across the lobby floors, double-height sky gardens and the top floor of the podiums of the five towers. Reflecting the gathering concept of the ‘Urban Well’ from earlier times, this scattered approach enables communal spaces to provide convenience and accessibility to the residents of each building, while ensuring a wide variety of places for exercises, activities and gathering throughout the development.
The landscape of 18T Mansion is layered to create generous outdoor courtyards that provide conversation areas, children's playgrounds and an aerial running track encircles the outdoor area, in addition to shared amenity spaces for the community on top of the green roof podium.
UNStudio also collaborated with the JTL Studio landscape architects to sketch the concept of a ‘Shared Urban Garden’ that introduces a variety of ecological plants and a waterscape to the outdoor areas. This approach reduces air pollution and regulates thermal comfort through large areas of greenery, creating a healthy and ecological living environment.
The residential towers as vertical neighborhoods
The design of the residential towers features an innovative open floor plan, resembling 'Castles in the Sky.' Its primary purpose is to maximise user comfort by providing protective isolation and enhanced privacy, while ensuring optimal daylight, natural ventilation and choreographed views.
Each of the units boasts stunning vistas through bespoke floor-to-ceiling windows, creating light-filled interiors with ceiling heights of 3.3 or 3.6 meters. The large windows also bring abundant natural daylight to each unit, reducing the use of artificial lighting. The ultra-high-ceilinged spaces are also designed to give the residents a tangible space-expanding experience.
To meet the needs of diverse demographics and family combinations, a tiered massing strategy is employed to accommodate varying sizes and types of units. This results in a progressive upward and outward movement in the massing from the lower to the higher zones, with a maximum shift of 2.4 meters. Applied consistently across all five towers, this incremental approach optimises land use while accommodating 84 distinct unit types, ranging in size from 83 m² to 1,200 m².
The crowns of the towers feature penthouses with the largest floor plans, offering residents breathtaking, year-round views of the downtown urban fabric, the Yangtze River, and the mountains beyond.
A new kind of facade
One of the most unique features of 18T Mansion is the interlocking system applied to the facade. Convex edges and soffits, highlighted in brass and silver tones, interlock and grow laterally across the facade. Through careful articulation and transition, this system evolves continuously from a two-dimensional element into a three-dimensional architectural component. This innovation imbues 18T with a dynamic articulation, while simultaneously addressing challenges such as force points and overhang length limitations of a massing that progressively expands upward.
Breaking the frontiers for human health and wellbeing
With the core objective of creating a holistically healthy eco-community, the design approach of 18T Mansion surpasses the standards of WELL Platinum certification.
Throughout the design and construction process, ten key dimensions - air, light, materials and more - were meticulously considered. These elements, designed to meet higher standards, work together to create living spaces that promote physical and mental health and wellbeing, foster social interaction, and uphold environmental and societal sustainability.
This holistic strategy also offers green and healthy amenities to encourage exercise, social activities and encounters, while also focusing on enhancing the indoor environment, with an emphasis on improving residents' sleep quality and daily efficiency.
The project also employs integral design strategies for enhancing the building efficiency - across the structure, facade and interior - while improving overall comfort and contributing to reduce health hazards and the creation of a low-carbon environment.
