RSC (Resort Software Community) Building by THAD SUP Atelier: Design Review

The RSC (Resort Software Community) Building by THAD SUP Atelier is a multi-functional civic and office building in Hainan, southern China, designed around gardens, courtyards and terraces rather than a sealed glass box. Completed in 2021 as part of the Digital City Hall of the Hainan Eco-Smart New City, the project, named “Garden & Courtyard”, combines exhibition space, a creative industry hub and commercial offices. Its climate-responsive design, built for a subtropical setting, offers clear ideas for architects and developers working in Pakistan’s hot climates. This review explains the design and draws out practical lessons.

Site and Context

The building stands in the south-western part of Tencent Eco Village Park, right beside the park’s main entrance. Its position makes it both a gateway and a public building, so the design had to welcome visitors while also providing working space for offices. The south-western side faces a landscape terrace and open views, which the architects used as the main outlook for every floor.

Design Concept: Eastern Gardens and Courtyards

The architects drew on the conceptual model of traditional Eastern gardens and courtyards. Instead of a single large volume, the building is broken into interconnected courtyards at different levels, terraced platforms, outdoor atriums and shaded cooling alleys. Visitors move along winding paths through a sequence of spaces, with changing views at each turn. This creates a multi-dimensional public space in which the building and its landscape are experienced together.

The idea is more than aesthetic. Courtyards and alleys create shade and channel breezes, terraces give every level direct access to outdoor space, and the broken-up form lets daylight reach deeper into the plan.

Spatial Organisation

Core and circulation

A central core contains the entrance hall, small halls and corridors, along with lifts, toilets and some equipment rooms. The main spaces on each floor are reached from this core, and every space has a direct route out to an outdoor platform, linking inside and outside on every level.

Ground floor

The first floor holds the public functions: exhibition spaces, a multi-function hall, a café and a tearoom. Visitors arrive at the main reception from the north side, and a courtyard leads through to the main hall.

Office floors

The second to fourth floors are offices. They can be reached by the lobby lift, or by climbing to a shared platform on the second floor and continuing to individual offices from there.

Terraces and stairs

Each floor has a rooftop platform connected by outdoor stairs down to the landscape terrace, giving a continuous outdoor route through the building. An outdoor shared hall on the east side includes a vertical stair designed for emergency evacuation.

Climate-Responsive Strategies

Courtyard Building vs Sealed Office Block

Lessons for Pakistan

Pakistan’s climate ranges from humid coastal heat in Karachi to dry, extreme summer heat in Lahore, Multan and interior Sindh. The RSC Building shows how a contemporary building can use traditional ideas to cope with heat, and several lessons transfer directly.

Rediscover the courtyard

Courtyards and shaded verandas are part of the architecture of South Asia, from havelis to Mughal buildings. Modern offices, schools and clinics can use them again to reduce cooling loads and improve daylight.

Use earth and mass

Earth-sheltered lower floors and green roofs slow down heat gain. In Pakistan, insulated or planted roofs on low-rise buildings can noticeably reduce top-floor temperatures. Waterproofing must be designed carefully.

Give every floor outdoor space

Terraces and shaded balconies are valued in Pakistani buildings and can make offices and apartments more attractive to tenants.

Plan for safe evacuation

Open-air stairs and multiple outdoor routes, like the RSC Building’s emergency stair, support fire safety. Designs should still follow the Building Code of Pakistan fire provisions and NFPA principles.

Engineer the envelope for local conditions

Passive strategies work best with proper shading, insulation and efficient cooling. ASHRAE guidance is widely used for energy-efficient design. For commercial projects in Lahore, see ACCO’s commercial building design and office building architecture services.

How a Courtyard-Led Project Is Designed

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

THAD SUP Atelier’s RSC Building shows that a modern workplace can be built around gardens, courtyards and terraces, using traditional spatial ideas to answer a hot climate. For Pakistan, where cooling dominates energy bills, the lessons are practical: shade, courtyards, earth and outdoor space should be design tools, not afterthoughts.