PROJECT REPORT: TRANSPORT FACILITIES & PUBLIC REALM 37
OPEN SPACE
Despite being an office building, key areas such as the bamboo-enclosed rooftop zones are open to the public © Xia Zhi
overall concept, and the striking design of the rooftop terrace, as well as tying together the common areas of the building. Throughout his experience working in
China, he says that overall, he has seen few “notable” differences in procurement: “Sometimes the decision process might be less linear and forward than in other markets, however once construction begins, it compensates for lost time.”
Revealing the past “Although the factory is somewhat alien to the history of Nantou, it belongs to its brief, and recent, industrialisation,” begins Mattozzi, discussing how the team began the design process for the Idea Factory. “It is therefore part of the historical changes that define Nantou today.” According to the architect, the team’s initial sketches aimed to be both “respectful and playful,” with the practice interested in preserving the building’s history while “opening it to the public, via making it more porous,” and providing access at ground and rooftop levels.
He tells me the facade design was a response not just to the surroundings, and the “brutalist expression”of the original structure, but also to the climatic conditions. “On the one hand we wanted the original structure to honestly reveal itself, in all of its historical scars; on
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the other hand we wanted to reduce overheating, by pushing the glazing inward and using the concrete slabs as shading.” “In other words,” he says, “we reveal the
past, while hiding from the light.” The result of this is a series of continuous, open loggias that wrap around the entire building, providing circulation that the practice hopes will enable chance encounters with colleagues, and foster a “dynamic creative environment.” The only slightly incongruous, and “playful” element, as Mattozzi puts it, is a tube-like structure housing the main public staircase, which is clad in timber. “Here,” he says, “the public staircase connects the plaza to the roof terrace and literally breaks the barrier between private and public space.”
Carving an entrance
Users enter from the small public square facing the building on the ground floor, through the ‘wooden tube’ that marks the public entrance, and which then carves its way through the building. Internally, the staircase is clad in mirrors and bright neon signs, creating an aesthetic reminder of the early days of Shenzhen’s urbanisation. On the fourth floor, the end of the staircase protrudes out of the opposite facade in a semi-circular, timber form. This provides users with a chance to take in
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