First Automotive Works Research & Development Center

FAW SmithGroup Science & Technology
FAW SmithGroup Science & Technology
FAW SmithGroup Science & Technology
FAW SmithGroup Science & Technology
FAW SmithGroup Science & Technology
FAW SmithGroup Science & Technology
FAW SmithGroup Science & Technology
FAW SmithGroup Science & Technology

To meet First Automotive Works goal of a world-class facility producing 2.3 million vehicles annually, SmithGroup responded with a contiguous complex on a site equivalent to 95 football fields. The configuration fosters collaboration among a projected employee population of 7,000 while addressing employee safety and health concerns.

Client

First Automotive Works

Location

Changchun, China

Markets/Services

Science & Technology, Workplace, Architecture, Structural Engineering, MEP Engineering, Landscape Architecture, Corporate Research & Development

Size

5,037,500 GSF, 130 acres

It also reflects the company's position as China's preeminent automotive enterprise. The project incorporates an administration building, a comprehensive research and development center, a project team office building, two 2,500-vehicle parking structures, and a central distribution center supported by 1,100 meters of tunnel network to serve the entire facility.

The design team incorporated traditional Chinese planning principles, developing the facility's programmatic organization and orientation according to ancient methods of balancing the flow of energies within a space. This informs decisions regarding circulation paths, placement and number of entrances, views and sight lines, materials selection, shapes of building components, and design of the surrounding natural environment.