ZIIN Beijing Store

The project site is part of Langyuan Station, which features a warehouse with pitched roof and brick walls built in the 1960s. Here, two intersected square frameworks were erected, meticulously rotated at 45 degrees, forming an individual structure that is also connected to the original brick wall—a ‘space within a space’.

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The old and new were treated differently in transparent and solid materials. The transparent interior is clad in corrugated polycarbonate panels, welcoming sunlight from the south window. The negative space (between the existing brick walls and new frameworks) flows along the perimeter, introducing the notions of ‘semi-interior and semi-exterior’. On the mezzanine floor, unexpected spaces were inserted: a triangular balcony, pergolas and staircase that were adapted to suit the circulation and enhance it with spontaneous gathering areas.

The design team aspired to capture the authentic craft of construction and express the narrative of the structure. Hence, every component is visible and ‘traceable’, from the steel structure, timber frame, wall substructure to the assembled finish panels.

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PROJECT DATA

Site Location
Beijing, China

Completion Date
March 2022

Site Area
186 square metres

Architecture Firm
Atelier tao+c

Design Team
Tao Liu; Chunyan Cai; Haojia Song; Weilu Wang; Jingying Cai (intern)

Construction Firm
Shanghai Tianci Architecture Deco, Limited, Co.

Photos
Wen Studio

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Liu Tao & Cai Chunyan

Liu Tao and Cai Chunyan co-founded Atelier tao+c in Shanghai in 2016. Cai received a master’s degree in architecture from the Berlage Institute in Netherlands, and Liu graduated from Shandong art college. They have handled projects in architecture, interior design and product design, being especially active in the architecture of adaptive reuse. Through various projects in ageing neighbourhoods, the firm examined the in-between nature of trend cycles, showing us how the aesthetics of transience are sometimes necessary to support certain functions/typologies or ‘futureproof’ a space by way of flexibility. Their projects have won various awards, most recently in A&D Awards […]

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