Westlake University opens in Hangzhou, China
The new Westlake University in Hangzhou, China, has opened its doors to students and staff. HENN's masterplan and design proposal for the university was selected as the winner in an international architecture competition in 2017. On the 920,000 m² site, the main buildings and areas are now complete. The remaining buildings will be finished in 2025.
Established in 2018, Westlake University is a new type of research university, a first in the history of modern China, funded through the Westlake Education Foundation. Located in a vast area in the west of Hangzhou, it houses state of the art academic facilities, laboratories, offices, sports facilities, canteens, and housing for an international body of students and faculty.
The design for the Westlake campus addresses a range of scales and needs, from its urban-scale master plan to individual buildings. The site is defined as a series of concentric rings that organize the campus both physically and conceptually: the Academic Core, the Water Loop, and the Living Loop.
