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news CASE STUDY Tang Foundation Headquarters
In November 2015,
the Tang
Foundation, an organisation dedicated to education, held the grand opening of its headquarters in Suzhou, designed by Woods Bagot. A place for collaboration and innovation, the headquarters has been designed to be a place where the “future” is born. The building has been donating to the top 21 universities of China, representing the latest innova- tions and technology that are driven by imagination. Different educational functions are all housed under one roof, creating an innovative approach that inspires, unites and stimulates the students mind. Dedicated to education in China, the
Tang Foundation’s new Headquarters is a future-thinking space where innovation meets collaboration. The Chinese headquarters building
is a simple structure that houses all of the foundation’s administrative functions, exhibitions, lectures and symposiums. Separated into two main parts: Education and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Woods Bagot was responsible for the interior fit-out of the educational facilities. Delivering on Mr. Tang’s mandate to
create a space differentiated from that of a school or museum, Woods Bagot was careful to tailor the space to the students rather than government officials. One of the most important focal points of the building are the exhibits donated by the 21 universities that the foundation is sponsoring. They represent the latest innovations and technology where
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imagination is the driving force behind. Woods Bagot also has a culture of Giving Back to the Community and approach Tang Foundation as a non-profit project. Given the different educational func- tions all being housed under one roof, an innovative approach is adopted to convey the message to students, hoping to inspire, unite and stimulate the young minds. The Main concept
Foundation Headquarters was
for Tang to
“inspire” – the mandate from Mr. Tang, the founder of the foundation. The first impression is always impor-
tant entering a building, the lobby is, essentially, the face of the building. It sets the tone for the rests of the spaces. “After going through numerous design
ideas regarding column treatments, we did not come up with anything that we were happy with until one day, we came across some young people on the street playing “Spinning tops.” I was mes- merised by the motion and energy and came up with the strange idea of convey- ing that sense in the reception. Earlier sketches show different kinds of column enclosure and we were experimenting with different materials. At the end, we chose to use artificial stones because of its stability and durability.” Says Godfrey Lam, senior associate of Woods Bagot. The result is a feat of engineering and
perseverance. The final form of the column enclosures, after numerous modifications, houses the reception desk, seating area and a reading area. The result is a dynamic sculpture that
juxtaposes with the serenity of the rests of the interiors. The rest of the public space is an
extension of the exterior courtyards. The wooden curvy walls, with the occasional bamboo plants conveys a sense of “quiet dynamic”, juxtapose with the “hurricane” like column enclosures. There is a balance between calm and energetic, light and dark through the building. The complex houses an auditorium
that seats 400 at its maximum. Instead of designing it like a tradition lecture hall, the walls were lined up with sound absorbing panels and clear polycarbonate panels over the concrete wall, with LED lights behind which illuminates the whole wall. This gives the illusion that the wall panels are floating from the concrete walls behind, creating a sense of lightness that balances the activities housed within. The library houses Mr. Tang’s vast col-
lection of books. Instead of using tradi- tion book shelves housed in an enclosed space, we take the concept of “Lego” and conceive the whole space make up of giant lego blocks made out of acrylic that can be stacked in different configura- tions. The result is a library space that can expand or contract, stacked up high or low, according to the user’s desire. The whole project is conceived as a
dynamic space, at different paces accord- ing to different functions. It is a place that is tailored to the users, not the institution. A place that we hope to foster imagination amongst the users, a place that they can truly enjoy.
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