Director - China
BArch, AIA, JAA
Beijing, China
Satoshi Ohashi

Photograph by Frederic Aranda ©

Courtesy of ZHA, render by MIR
Start-up exhibition and conference centre
In 1988, Satoshi established ZHA’s Tokyo office, contributing significantly to the practice’s early works in Asia, including the Tomigaya Building, Azabu-Jyuban, and Moonsoon Restaurant. Satoshi relocated to Beijing, where he began collaborating with SOHO China and established ZHA’s Beijing office in 2008.
In response to China’s rapid growth, Satoshi has directed numerous large-scale projects, including Leeza SOHO, Galaxy SOHO, and Daxing Airport. His portfolio includes major developments such as Tower C at Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base and the Capital International Exhibition & Convention Centre.
Satoshi has played an instrumental role in ZHA’s continuous research and development since its pre-digital era. He leads the Beijing office with optimism and passion, facilitating an environment where ideas and designs evolve through sketching, experimentation and team collaboration.
Prior to joining ZHA, Satoshi spent his formative years in Japan and New York, and worked globally across New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo.


Courtesy of Brick Visual
Featured Projects
From a tower's design that divides its volume into two halves enclosed by a single facade shell, to a design that integrates a tower into the city and nature within its central green axis, discover highlights of Satoshi's most notable projects at ZHA.

Satoshi completed his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Michigan in the US and pursued graduate studies at the University of Illinois in Chicago and in Versailles, France.
Satoshi has lectured at prestigious universities worldwide, including Tsinghua University in Beijing, Tongji University in Shanghai, the Architectural Association (AA) in London, and Yale University in the US. He also addressed the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan, participated in the exhibition, and served as a Selection Committee Juror and visiting critic at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Born in Osaka and raised in New York City, Satoshi holds an appreciation for Japanese tradition and craftsmanship and vibrant contemporary urban environments, both of which profoundly influence his architectural thinking. His work reflects a deep understanding of the balance between nature and humanity, and the connection between history and possibilities for the future.
Projects
Explore a selection of projects Satoshi has contributed to since joining ZHA.

Courtesy of ZHA
Offices
Conceived as four interconnected towers reaching a height of 200m (42 floors), the 185,000 sq.m design incorporates two towers of flexible, open-plan spaces linked by a 20-storey vertical lobby, and two external service towers providing vertical circulation.

Photograph by Hufton + Crow
Transport + Infrastructure
Beijing Daxing International Airport is a new airport in the Daxing district 46km south of the city centre (20 minutes by express train).

Render by Atchain
Culture
Jinghe New City is growing as a science and technology hub north of Xi’an in China’s Shaanxi province. Supported by new scientific research institutes and driven by environmental considerations, the city is becoming a centre for developing industries focusing on new energy and materials, artificial intelligence and aerospace.

Photograph by Xue Liang 薛亮
Offices
Mixed Use
Infinitus Plaza is the new global headquarters of Infinitus China. Incorporating work environments designed to nurture connectivity, creativity and entrepreneurship, the new headquarters also includes the group’s herbal medicine research facilities and safety assessment labs as well as a learning centre for conferences and exhibitions.

Photograph by Hufton + Crow
Offices
Retail
Four continuous, flowing volumes coalesce to create an internal world of continuous open spaces within Galaxy Soho – a new office, retail entertainment complex devoid of corners or abrupt transitions – a re-inventing of the classical Chinese courtyard which generates an immersive, enveloping experience at the heart of Beijing.

Photograph by Virgile Simon Bertrand
Mixed Use
Civic
As the cultural, academic and civic centre of China, Beijing has also developed into one of the world’s centres of communication and scientific research.

Courtesy of Arch-Exist
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Culture
The new Chengdu Science Fiction Museum is situated on Jingrong Lake within the Science & Innovation New City of Chengdu’s Pidu District.

Courtesy of Marisfrolg
Retail
Located at the heart of Marisfrolg Fashion Group’s Shenzhen campus, the 2,900m² Marisfrolg Showroom interiors by ZHA are informed by the rich textiles, timeless design and precision tailoring embodied within the group’s nine unique labels.

Photograph by Paul Warchol
Fire part of the project, Lounge Area
Interior Architecture
Fire meets ice to create two strange, synthetic worlds in Moonsoon. A formal eating area features cool greys, tables reinvented as ice shards, and a raised ‘iceberg’ floor area. Above, a furnace of fire contrasts the relaxation lounge – all searing reds, brilliant yellows and exuberant oranges.

Courtesy of CAT-OPTOGRAM 猫瞳
Culture
Integrating three distinct cultural institutions for the city, each venue within the Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Arts Centre incorporates unique characteristics that create differing visitor experiences, yet all are united by a coherent formal and structural logic that spans 170 meters wide from east to west and 270 meters long from north to south.

Tall Buildings
Offices
Demarcating the centre of Xi’an’s business district, Daxia Tower’s gently curving silhouette is accentuated by layers of patterned glazing and dramatic atriums that bring natural light deep into its floorplates. Creating a cascade of planted interior terraces that echo mountainside waterfalls, each atrium gives panoramic views over the historic city and the growing high-tech zone.

Render by Negativ
Offices
The new Taikang Financial Centre will be a centre of excellence, developing effective systems and networks that will provide a new ecosystem of support for people of all ages across China. Using the new technologies developed within the Taikang Financial Centre, the group will continue its commitment to supporting community development, healthcare, education and well-being throughout the country.

Offices
The 218,000m² campus sets new benchmarks for the city in energy conservation, energy efficiency and sustainability.

Courtesy of Soho China, photograph by Jerry Yin
Offices
Mixed Use
Located in Wangjing’s centre, Wangjing Soho is a mixed-use development consisting of three towers 118, 127, 200 metres in height designed as three interweaving ‘mountains’ that fuse building and landscape to bring together the surrounding community with a new 60,000m² public park. The design responds to the flows of the city and allows natural daylight into each building from all directions.

Courtesy of ZHA, render by MIR
Start-up exhibition and conference centre
Masterplans
A mixed-use masterplan for 70,000 researchers, office staff, residents and visitors, Unicorn Island has been designed to enhance the well-being of its community; its design influenced by principles within the region’s historical natural engineering projects.
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