ArchDaily In-Depth Profile is an interview series featuring designers with long-term practice in specific architectural typologies. To qualify, featured firms must have been established for over a decade, or possess a substantial portfolio of completed and ongoing projects within a specialized architectural field, having developed a cohesive theoretical framework. Recently, the opening of the East Coast of OH Bay in Bao'an, Shenzhen—with its urban-terrace-like architectural form and cascading landscape design—rapidly became a highly popular landmark. This drew our attention to the planning and design team, Laguarda.Low Architects (LLA). A 20-year-old firm headquartered in New York, with offices in Tokyo and Beijing, they apply their core design philosophy—"building the fundamental concept of every master plan and architectural design on an understanding and development of its role in urban design"—to projects in cities across the globe. This edition of the In-Depth Profile dives into their two decades of achievements and insights.
ArchDaily: Having practiced architectural design in China for many years, what major projects have you completed recently?
LLA (Laguarda.Low Architects): We recently completed the master planning and architectural design for the OH Bay project in the Bao'an Central District of Shenzhen. This project is another landmark cultural-tourism-commercial complex by the OCT Group, encompassing retail, office, culture, entertainment, and park spaces. Through our integration of architectural and spatial forms, a design philosophy that merges park and building, distinctive landscape design, and public art curation, we created a destination unique in its form, space, experience, and quality. This successfully delivers on the project's positioning as an innovative cultural, tourism, leisure, commercial, and corporate complex.
