Tianjin has been one of the most important commercial and shipping cities in the north of China since the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Allen Jack+Cottier and the Beijing Institute of Architecture and Design (BIAD) were invited to participate in a limited competition to create an important sporting and recreational facility with accompanying luxury apartments, hotel and new commercial area along the Hai He River.
The traditional cultural representation of water and waves was the inspiration for the design. The landmark watersports building evokes images of the magnificent billowing sails of the famous America’s Cup yachts and the strength of the eagle, the city bird of Tianjin. The main building, the Watersports World was designed for a range of activities including swimming, diving, waterslides, indoor surfing, water polo, basketball, tennis, squash, indoor gold and sporting medicine such as doctors and physiotherapists. A peaceful and sophisticated hotel and marina front the river linked to residential and commercial zones by extensive landscaping.