Giant Interactive Group Headquarters

Designed by Morphosis, led by architect Thom Mayne, Giant Interactive Group Headquarters was developed between 2005 and 2006 and constructed from 2006 to 2010 in Shanghai, China. Built for Giant Interactive Group, one of China’s leading online game developers and operators at the time, the 23,997-square-metre headquarters was conceived as more than a conventional office building. Set around existing canals and a new man-made lake, the campus combines workplaces with spaces for recreation, culture and hospitality, creating a compact environment where different parts of working life come together.

Rather than treating the landscape as something surrounding the building, Morphosis integrated architecture directly into the ground. The campus is divided into East and West sections, connected by an enclosed walkway that crosses over the street and acts as the main circulation route. On the East Campus, the undulating office building contains open, non-hierarchical workspaces alongside private offices and executive suites, some of which cantilever dramatically over the lake. The same area also includes a library, auditorium, exhibition space and café.

The West Campus takes a different approach, with much of its programme placed beneath a large, undulating green roof. Employees have access to a swimming pool, sports courts, fitness facilities and spaces for relaxation, while the campus extends further into a guest hotel at the western end. Here, private bedroom suites with glass floors project over a wildlife pond. Across the site, plazas and outdoor paths are carved into the landscape, creating places for employees to meet, take breaks and move between the different parts of the campus.

The headquarters was also designed with environmental performance and everyday comfort in mind. The green roofs provide thermal mass that helps limit heat gain, while the double-skin façade and insulated glass curtain wall reduce solar heat gain. The relatively narrow profile of the office building, combined with a system of skylights, allows natural light to reach the workspaces. Circulation areas, courtyards and recreational spaces are positioned not only as functional routes but also as opportunities for informal encounters beyond the office.

Giant Interactive Group Headquarters was Morphosis’ first building commission in China and reflects the practice’s interest in architecture as something that can respond to changing social, cultural and technological conditions. Founded by Thom Mayne in 1972, Morphosis began as an interdisciplinary collective working across architecture, urbanism and design. Mayne’s approach has consistently challenged conventional building forms, often using complex geometries and new technologies to create buildings that interact closely with their surroundings. He received the Pritzker Prize in 2005, the same year the design of the Giant Interactive headquarters began.