China Life Care Garden – Lejing uses a calm horizontal terracotta palette to organise a large elder-care campus around a landscaped central courtyard.
This verified Tianjin project record is paired with an elder care terracotta facade design and specification guide for community use. The use type changes entrance, low-level impact, accessibility, daylight, enclosure and maintenance priorities, but it does not turn the facing material into proof of health, safety or whole-wall performance.
Verified project record
| Location | Tianjin Airport Economic Zone, China |
|---|---|
| Use | Elder-care welfare and health complex with independent-living, care, rehabilitation/medical and daily-life commercial functions, as described by the architect |
| Design | AXS SATOW INC.; co-design credited by the architect to ChinaHumax Engineering Design |
| Completion | April 2021, according to the architect’s project record |
| Scale | Architect’s published total floor area: 133,007.12 m²; its project record lists 10 floors above and one basement. Tianjin Free Trade Zone reporting gives a 74,000 m² site, approximately 130,000 m² total floor area and capacity for more than 1,000 residents. |
| Facade archive | LOPO’s 2022 supplier record identifies dark-grey sandblasted terracotta at the ground level, natural beige and light-yellow terracotta above, and frosted, linear, grooved and project-tailored coarse textures around the window composition. |
| LOPO boundary | LOPO’s project archive and professional profile identify a terracotta-facade manufacturing role. They do not establish that LOPO was architect, facade consultant, structural/enclosure/fire designer, contractor or installer. |
| Undisclosed facade fields | Panel model numbers, dimensions/thickness, quantity or area supplied, fixing/rail/bracket/anchor details, insulation/membranes, fire stopping, tests, contractor, installer, facade consultant and completion acceptance documents |
Project identity and completion data follow the AXS SATOW project record. Current scale and location context are corroborated by the Tianjin Free Trade Zone record. Terracotta descriptions and LOPO’s limited role follow the dated LOPO supplier archive.
Use facade composition to support legibility
At a large care or community campus, the envelope can help people distinguish a shared base, residential wings, entrances and activity areas. The Lejing archive shows a darker ground-level zone below lighter upper facades, repeated horizontal courses, framed windows and occasional green accents. These are observable composition devices—not a universal colour formula.
Campus hierarchy
Map arrival, drop-off, reception, public/community uses, residential wings, care areas, gardens and service access. Give each route a clear visual hierarchy without relying on one colour alone.
Human-scale base
Coordinate the low-rise frontage with entrances, canopies, seating, glazing, handrails, planting, lighting and signs. Check what residents and visitors can see from standing, seated and vehicle approaches.
Repeatable upper grid
Align panel modules with windows, sills, heads, slabs, movement joints and room planning. Resolve exceptions at corners and end bays rather than allowing cumulative drift.
Make entrances and accessible routes unmistakable
Coordinate entrance recognition from the site boundary, drop-off, parking, garden paths and internal courtyards. Use a consistent combination of canopy/form, door and glazing, lighting, high-contrast sign, readable text/symbols and landscape cues. Colour can reinforce identity but should not be the only information channel.
- step-free route, gradients/crossfalls, landings, thresholds, drainage and weather protection;
- door clearances and operation, vision panels, manifestation, controls and intercom position;
- sign legibility, contrast, mounting height, lighting, multilingual or symbol needs and decision points;
- drop-off and emergency/service separation, kerbs, vehicle protection and pedestrian crossings;
- handover between facade panels, doors/windows, canopy, paving, tactile surfaces, handrails and waterproofing; and
- night, glare, rain/snow and reduced-vision review under the applicable accessibility requirements.
Design the low-level facade for touch, impact and replacement
Ground-level areas can experience wheelchairs, mobility aids, carts, beds or equipment, cleaning machinery, bicycles, luggage, landscape work and service vehicles. Define realistic impact/contact zones and select the complete wall, corners and trims accordingly. A darker colour does not prove impact resistance, stain resistance or easier maintenance.
| Product and support | Confirm exact panel/model, thickness and geometry; bracket/rail/clip or other support; edge/corner retention; substrate and project-specific structural/impact evidence. |
|---|---|
| Base and splash zone | Resolve clearances, paving/soil/snow interfaces, splashback, salts or chemicals, drainage outlets, flashings, membrane continuity and pest/ventilation details without trapping water. |
| Public contact | Review sharp edges, projections, hot/cold surfaces, impact, leaning or pulling, handrails, seating and equipment routes. Protect the facade where operations create predictable contact. |
| Corners and openings | Coordinate robust returns, jambs, sills, doors, service penetrations and transitions. Avoid narrow cuts or exposed unfinished edges unless the product/system explicitly permits them. |
| Local replacement | Demonstrate safe access/removal, independent retention, interface inspection and reinstatement. Keep labelled spare units and finish/batch records; replacement colour may not match weathered work exactly. |
Coordinate daylight, shading and window interfaces
Window repetition is central to the Lejing elevations, but appearance alone cannot establish daylight or comfort. Set project targets for occupied-room daylight, useful views, glare, privacy, solar gain, overheating, heat loss and shading by orientation and room use. Consider seated and bed-level eye positions where relevant to the brief.
At every opening, coordinate panel module and cuts, head/sill/jamb returns, window anchors, insulation and thermal bridges, air/water seals, flashings and end dams, cavity drainage, fire stopping, guard/limiting devices, cleaning access and replacement. Keep operable vents and drainage paths clear. Validate representative openings through coordinated drawings, mock-ups and required testing.
Verify the complete wall for water, fire and movement
| Structure | Engineer panels, supports, anchors and substrate for self-weight, wind, seismic actions where applicable, impact, building movement and tolerances. Confirm edge/corner zones and retention. |
|---|---|
| Water and air | Map rain shedding, joints, cavity drainage/ventilation, air/water control layers, flashings and interfaces at base, parapet, openings, penetrations and adjacent materials. Confirm discharge and test requirements. |
| Fire | Establish reaction-to-fire, fire resistance, cavity propagation, insulation/membrane/subframe contributions, fire stopping and compartmentation for the exact assembly under current local regulations. |
| Thermal and acoustic | Use complete-wall calculations/tests including insulation continuity, repeating thermal bridges, windows, joints, openings, backing wall and flanking. A terracotta facing alone does not prove comfort. |
| Movement and durability | Coordinate structural, thermal and moisture movement, panel/support compatibility, metals/corrosion environment, sealants/gaskets where used, finishes, cleaning and replacement strategy for the exposure. |
Plan mock-ups, inspection and long-term care
Use a visual sample range to agree colour, texture and gloss, then build a full-size technical mock-up with representative panel bands, window, corner, base and transition. Include actual supports, membranes, insulation and fire stopping where the mock-up is intended to validate those interfaces. Define visual acceptance separately from structural and enclosure tests.
- approved products, samples, batch/lot map, shop drawings, calculations, tests and inspection records;
- as-built supports, anchors, cavity, membranes, flashings, fire stops, movement joints and concealed interfaces;
- safe facade-access plan coordinated with residents, visitors, staff, gardens, drop-off and emergency routes;
- cleaning method and prohibited chemicals/tools tested against panels, joints, metals, glazing and landscaping;
- inspection triggers for damage, looseness, corrosion, blocked drainage, sealants, flashings and adjacent work; and
- labelled replacement stock, safe removal/reinstatement method, defect escalation and responsibility matrix.
Build an elder-care or community facade brief
Start with occupancy, resident/user profiles, accessibility and evacuation strategy, site/exposure, arrival and service routes, elevation geometry, openings, substrate, enclosure/fire strategy, low-zone contact, maintenance access, appearance range, applicable standards, mock-ups/tests, quantities and programme.
Review the current Terracotta Rainscreen range for product context, use the terracotta facade application-screening guide to assess suitability, and browse Gallery records for additional project-specific visual references.
Coordinate evidence for the complete facade
Share the project location and use, occupancy/accessibility requirements, elevations and interfaces, panel concept, substrate/support information, design actions, enclosure and fire strategy, appearance range, applicable standards, mock-up/testing plan, maintenance access, quantities and programme.