entrance of gallery. image © Lv Yuntao

China-based architecture firm Archstudio renovates a special project of an industrial building in the city of Beijing, China. The studio explains its design approach: the original building was of brick, concrete and prefabricated panels structure located in 798 art area, Beijing. The design wishes to respect and maintain the features of the original building, while improving the functional layout of the modern art gallery, and upgrading the quality of the interior space. Based on the analysis of the original building, the focus of this renovation is to create changeful gallery visiting experience. Thus the following three designs are developed.

exterior view. image © Wang Ning

Archstudio mentions about details of the facade and states that making use of the crack of the heating pipes outside the building to build an intermediary space and thus creates a new image for the gallery. Using the rusted metal mesh panels to form a “?”shape structure which looks like a space floating outside the brick walls.

exterior view perspective. image © Wang Ning

One side of the space is folded as the main entrance and awning, and the other side is built as internal stairs of the building. Mirror glass curtain wall reflects the street views, changing the closed impression of the gallery and enlivening the contacts of internal and external vision.

staircases are placed at facade and takes full daylight. image © Wang Ning

New steel-structure parts were added to the gallery, which were connected by a glass bridge, in this way, an internal “three-dimensional triple house courtyard” was formed. The exhibition hall is a pure white box, which is different from the rough red brick exterior wall, and the natural texture of the precast slab was partly retained only on the roof. Visitors tour from the internal to the external and between upper floors and lower floors, experiencing the differences of transition from the old to the new and comparison between rough and smooth.

reception hall. image © Lv Yuntao

A “light well” was created for the original low space (clear height 2 meters ) through demolishing the floor and roof of the office area in the original building. Natural light gets through the 3rd and 2nd floor’s office area and reach directly to the gallery, which on the one hand reduces the sense of oppression results from the low floor height; and on the other hand broadens the visibility of different areas of the interior. 

exhibition hall. image © Wang Ning

view from exhibition from galleries. image © Wang Ning

image © Lv Yuntao

stairs covered by white paint gives a pure effect. image © Lv Yuntao

interior detail view. image © Wang Ning

1st floor plan. image © Archstudio 

2nd floor.  image © Archstudio 

3rd floor plan. image © Archstudio 

analysis-1. image © Archstudio 

image © Archstudio 

axonometric diagram. image © Archstudio 

model works. image © Archstudio 

Project Facts

Location: 798 Art Area, Beijing

Project Type: Exhibition + Renovation

Project Status: Built

Building Area: 864 square meters

Project Architect: Han Wenqiang

Photographer: Wang Ning, Lv Yuntao

> via Archstudio