Page 111 - AIT0923_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Atelier tao+c, CN-Shanghai
Bauherr • Client ZIIN, CN-Shanghai
Standort • Location Langyuan Station, CN-Peking
Nutzfläche • Floor space 186 m 2
Fotos • Photos Wen Studio, CN-Shanghai
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More info on page 134

ZIIN SHOWROOM

IN PEKING

After decades of new construction at breath-taking
speed, conversions of inoperative industrial sites are also
in vogue in China. In Beijing, Langyuan Station, the for-
mer site of the textile industry situated between Jiangfu
Park, Liangma and Ba River was revived for retail, leisure
and culture. Atelier tao+c designed here the showroom
of ZIIN, the young brand for home furniture.

A telier tao+c, that’s Tao Liu and Chunyan Cai. In 2016, they foun-
ded their joint office for architecture, interior design and furniture
design. Revitalization has since developed into one of their main focu-
ses. And the two were certainly able to prove how well they master
this topic with this project in Beijing. The ZIIN showroom belongs to
Grundriss Erdgeschoss • Ground floor plan Grundriss Obergeschoss • Upper floor plan the Langyuan Station development project and is thus part of the trans-
formation of a once important textile-industry site. The brick buildings
date back to the 1960s. They were abandoned a long time ago. Recently
reanimated, this quarter in Beijing is supposed to represent the ecolo-
gical-cultural trend of a new generation. Neri&Hu transformed one of
the warehouses into the shop of the traditional pastry brand Lao Ding
Feng, and waa (we architech anonymous) designed The Playscape, an
impressive indoor-outdoor playground for children, in this industrial
relic (AIT 5.2022, p. 137). The area has what all new buildings unfortu-
nately do not have: charm and history. And the new showroom for ZIIN
also benefits from this. With respect for the historical heritage, Atelier
tao+c designed a “house within a house” in the form of two interlocking
frame constructions. These are twisted at an angle of 45 degrees to the
outer walls of the existing building to act as independent structures.
The floor plans with their niches and angles show how well they can
be staged with furniture. And they also demonstrate how interesting it
is to stroll around this showroom. The wooden staircase itself looks like
a large piece of furniture. There are open spaces between new and old
along the brick facades. You feel as if you are half inside and half out-
side here. Platforms as well as folding shutters on the upper floor create
interesting views all the way from top to bottom. Transparent polycarbo-
nate panels, warm, homely wooden panels, steel supports, girders and
ceilings as well as matte, terracotta-coloured carpet tiles produce a con-
sistent range of materials. The construction is virtually naked: nothing
is clad here, the shell and the development, the structure and the finish
are identical. Last but not least, Atelier tao+c also significantly reduced
Axonometrien • Axonometries costs with this deliberate exercise in renunciation.

AIT 9.2023 • 111