Location Dongcheng District, Beijing Floor Area 10,223m2 Design Time 2005 Completion Time 2008
Initially built as the American Legation in the beginning of 20th century, the quadrangle with 5 independent buildings and a quadrangle is renovated to be a high-grand cultural & fashion center in downtown Beijing, which includes restaurants, gallery, theater and entertainment facilities. The added volumes step down to make themselves subsidiaries of the old ones. Accesses for them are designed via the old entries that provide enough chances for visitors to be inspired by the historic atmosphere. The designers juxtaposed this respect for tradition with a distinctly modern vocabulary of steel and glass structural elements, which will not breach the reserved buildings. The state-of-the-art techniques and materials also give them a distinct feature from the 1920s’ style.
Initially built as the American Legation in the beginning of 20th century, the quadrangle with 5 independent buildings and a quadrangle is renovated to be a high-grand cultural & fashion center in downtown Beijing, which includes restaurants, gallery, theater and entertainment facilities. The added volumes step down to make themselves subsidiaries of the old ones. Accesses for them are designed via the old entries that provide enough chances for visitors to be inspired by the historic atmosphere. The designers juxtaposed this respect for tradition with a distinctly modern vocabulary of steel and glass structural elements, which will not breach the reserved buildings. The state-of-the-art techniques and materials also give them a distinct feature from the 1920s’ style.
