The past three decades of urbanization in China has resulted in a vast expanse of repetitive indoor environments. Emphasis on external forms and facades conceals workplaces which are largely undifferentiated, organized in towers around center cores. Functionally monolithic, these towers fueled the growth of Chinese cities based around a service economy but have left a void as China quickly embraces a high-tech sharing economy.

Neither the low-rise tech campuses of Silicon Valley nor the industrial lofts of New York’s Silicon Alley are likely models to be replicated in China at scale. For Chinese cities, the fundamental issue remains one of providing density. Chinese cities are still growing. How can we ‘hack’ density to create future workplaces for the sharing economy?

Optics Valley Innovation Center is a response to achieving variety and future-flexibility at scale. Encompassing twenty city blocks, Optics Valley revolves around building an innovation ecosystem — a community of startups, venture firms, big banks, and big tech, all with very different spatial requirements. The plan explores strategies to re-purpose conventional building types to yield unconventional spaces.

Several hybrid prototypes emerge: first, a cluster of hacked towers with diagonal shifts which disrupt otherwise repetitive floors. These shifts generate sloped floors and ceilings which in turn create new focal points: a tiered auditorium, connective atria, and communal landscapes. In the adjoining precinct, parallel rows of high-tech ‘factories’ house open workspaces and pop-up offices under a flowing roof. The system’s inherent flexibility balances small, medium, and big space-users in a collaborative environment. Space usage is mirrored in a digital platform where tenants and landlords trade space-on-demand within the project portfolio, enabling the high-density, future flexible workplace.