J-Office

Shanghai, China
Photo © Zhonghai Shen
Photo © Zhonghai Shen
Photo © Hao Chen
Photo © Hao Chen
Photo © Hao Chen
Architects
Archi-Union Architects
Year
2010

Facing a three-span old factory built in the 1960s in the abandoned Fifth Chemical Fiber Plant, and trying to transform it into a creative industry office space, we started to seek a simple construction aesthetic and a real but simple fabrication proces. The pristine post-industrial landscape and the inner potential undercurrent are our first impression of the site. Art entrepreneurs are keen on the rows of northern skylights, towering red brick chimneys, and mottled rusty steel roof trusses in this industrial heritage. The wedding photography team has come to the scene with new couples, which gradually constitutes a flowing daily event. The former is based on the past and the latter comes to reality and the future. The design expresses our feelings and the site context, and the medium that best expresses the language clearly and directly to the public should be the original essence of the construction.
In the spatial planning of the entire three-span plant, we removed the roof of the second span that was not of good quality. The entrance to the office space is placed in a position facing the axis of the second span. Therefore the first step in this space is the grass under the series of roof trusses. This invisible sense of “squatting” is not shaped by superior forms, but simple spacial choices. All the walls retain almost the original bricks of the 1960s in order to return to the original and historical beauty. The new species of creeper wear new green clothes throughout the inner court two years later. The design of the entire space design is to create a new creative lifestyle through spatial integration and transformation. After the removal of the second span roof, the three-span factory building and the original inner courtyard were adjusted to a series of spaces consisting of two courtyards.

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