Sichuan Art Factory and Innovation Center

The brief comprised four components: glass art production facilities, an innovation and auction hall, a small museum for regional glass art, and a boutique hotel for VIP clients. As a common typology tying the wide variety of uses together, we were inspired by industrial buildings, which are equally suitable for production and art display. Since we could not draw on the patina of an existing building, we used simple and rough building materials - such as exposed concrete frames and concrete bricks, which serve as a neutral “canvas”. By extruding the section of a typical 3-nave warehouse across the length of the site, a continuous, undulating roofscape is formed that stretches across all functional areas. The roofscape “oscillates” like a frequency curve, creating both pitched and butterfly-shaped roofs, with peaks at different heights. As the valleys of the curve coincide with the gutters of the naves, the roofs are carved slightly upwards towards the eaves, resembling the shape of the region’s traditional Chinese roofs. As a further inspiration from traditional Chinese architecture, and as protection from their harsh industrial surroundings, four introverted courtyards are carved from the buildings’s mass, each with an individual character and serving a different purpose. They are lined with a screen of vertical bamboo elements, using a biodegradable but durable bamboo derivate, cushioning and distinguishing these spaces as precious and setting them apart from the functional prefabricated concrete cladding of the warehouses. The four courtyards are traversed in a sequence from public to private, reflecting the principle of ancient Chinese courtyard houses and imperial architecture. At each junction, and to occlude direct views, the route shifts across diagonally, taking up the theme of the Chinese spirit wall. To learn more visit: www.urbanlogic.eu