The Agricultural Bank of China’s Data Processing Center is a strategic and secure location that is also used by executives from China’s third largest bank for training courses A training center, a 200-bedroom hotel, and recreational areas reinforce the office program. Located in the Pudong sector, a zone undergoing massive development works to the northeast of Shanghai, the location takes the form of a large rectangular enclosure that faces inward onto its internal space, much like a Chinese palace. The layout is ordered, with the exception of a few significant elements including the setback of an esplanade, the emphasis of a tower block, the volume of an amphitheatre, and the doubled thickness of the northern building. The buildings are positioned over a plinth containing a car park and, with the exception of the tower block, restricted to a height not exceeding five floor levels. The interior garden is a hollowed-out space laid out around a lake with curved contours. It is crossed by two footbridges doubling up the walkways around the internal perimeter and has a pavilion giving directly onto the water.
Overall, this is a low density scheme, with planted areas covering 115 000 square meters of the 8- hectare site. Emphasis is placed on the quality of the workplace rather than the need to provide an institutional image, and the enclosed area contains a protected, finished space in this town undergoing complete reconstruction. The elevations present two contrasting and serene expressions presenting specific qualities and comfort: a horizontal grid of sunbreakers to the exterior and large mobile shutters in the interior. These screens frame the garden in a manner worthy of a Chinese palace. Randomly placed groves of trees, aquatic plants, and brick-laid floor surfaces all contribute to the composition of the interior landscape.