Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} 798 Inside China's Art Zone by Wenya Huang Archstudio Applies a Translucent Metal Curtain to Clad IOMA Art Center in Beijing
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Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} 798 Inside China's Art Zone by Wenya Huang archstudio applies a translucent metal curtain to clad IOMA art center in beijing. for a recent project archstudio has transformed an existing building at 798 art zone, beijing, to create the IOMA art center. based on the concept of ‘symbiosis’, the design aims to realize harmonious coexistence between the old and new, inside and outside, and architecture and nature. main façade, image © jin weiqi. when approaching the project, archstudio utilized the original architectural space and added extensions to the top floor and along the street, with a view to satisfying the future demands of the building. the design team firstly deconstructed and integrated functions into the overall space, and created some new communal areas such as a restaurant, art store, multi-functional hall and leisure area, so as to enable smooth transition from nature to public spaces and to exhibition areas. façade detail, image © jin weiqi. the designers also reorganized the circulation routes throughout the entire space. the visiting route of the former exhibition space was conventional and monotonous, and visitors had to go back along the circulation route after seeing the exhibitions, which resulted in boring spatial experiences. besides, up and down movement of visitors generated a sense of formality, which sometimes alienated them from the space. considering this, the design team demolished and transformed parts of the original architectural space, and added staircases and elevators, thereby creating a loop- shaped route. in addition, archstudio also designed two independent circulations leading to the terrace and the restaurant, which provide visitors with interesting experiences and let them feel like they are touring a garden. entrance, image © jin weiqi. the design team created several recessed arc-shaped courtyards, and completely retained the trees that already existed on the site . the courtyards and green trees together shaped a distinct spatial character for the building. as visitors wandering in the space, their interaction with trees varies. they encounter different parts of trees, from roots to the treetops, and sometimes need to bow their heads to walk under branches. exhibition hall, image © jin weiqi. the perfect combination of nature and space gives the place great charm. the façade is clad in a translucent curtain of metal, making the trees appear to grow out of it, blending into the environment and as well as the building. through the above-mentioned strategies, an originally conventional art gallery which resembled an enclosed box has been perfectly transformed into a natural, open, intimate and interaction-evoking multi-functional art center. exhibition hall, image © jin weiqi. art store, image © jin weiqi. exhibition hall, image © wang ning. exhibition hall, image © wang ning. exhibition hall, image © jin weiqi. restaurant, image © jin weiqi. restaurant, image © jin weiqi. exhibition hall, image © wang ning. project info: project name: IOMA. scope of design: architectural transformation + interiors. location: 798 art zone, jiuxianqiao road, chaoyang district, beijing, china. area: 32,291.73 ft2 (3,000 m2) main materials: perforated steel panels, self-levelling cement, cement-effect paint. completion: april 2019. design firm: archstudio. chief designer: han wenqiang. design team: cao chong, wen chenhan, huang tao. structural design: zhang fuhua. electrical & plumbing design: zheng baowei, cheng guofeng. HVAC design: yu yan. photography: jin weiqi, wang ning. designboom has received this project from our ‘ DIY submissions ‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here. 798: Inside China's Art Zone by Wenya Huang. About 330,000 visitors and media representatives attended the 798 Art Zone from August 1-24, 2008, including a record-breaking 30,000 in one day. More than 30 percent of the visitors were from overseas. [Illustration by Guillermo Munro] Area helped to transform Beijing, but now the landscape has changed, as Zhang Yuchen reports. Huge fashion spreads cover brick walls. Shining steel adorns a maze of pipelines. Both are clear evidence that the days when cavernous concrete ceilings and obsolete machinery used to occupy the site of Beijing's 798 Art Zone have gone. With the capital's urbanization, the Dashanzi area, which once stood on the outskirts, has become part of the city. Most of the old factories have disappeared. The zone was transformed with the arrival of artists around 10 years ago in what was billed as a "cradle of contemporary Chinese art". Huang Rui, one of the pioneers of Chinese contemporary art who was once unofficial spokesman for the 798 arts district, said, "The artists' hub reflected the ebb and flow of the development process, similar to that in the SoHo district of New York, but it has ended up quite differently." In 2002, Huang came across the factory area and, amazed by the Bauhaus-style space inside the warehouses, decided to stay. Texan arts book publisher Robert Bernell was the first foreigner from the arts world to arrive at 798, full of passion and enthusiasm for contemporary Chinese art. With belief in his promising artist friends and dynamic works of art, he started his own publishing business, Timezone8, in 2002. Before moving in, he worked at Lucky Tower on the Third Ring Road in a small, drab office with dismal gray carpet and cheap, gypsum walls. With the need for more space, but with little money, he started to explore factories around Beijing. In 2000, the Beijing municipal authorities were moving factories out of the city fringes, leaving many industrial areas vacant. These factories had electricity, water and lots of space. They were on key transport routes and were cheap at the time. After looking at a number of factories, Bernell settled on 798 in 2002. It used to have a Muslim canteen where they made steamed buns and halvah, a dense, nougat-like dessert. The walls were caked with grease, there was a hole in the ceiling to accommodate an emissions vent, but it was only 0.6 yuan per square meter, or 2,000 yuan ($325 a month at today's rates). At the time, only 20 percent of the factory spaces were occupied. As artists started to work at 798, they also began to meet at Timezone8's coffee shop. Zheng Kuo, director of 798 Station, an independent documentary about the progress of 798 in the past 10 years, said: "I always remember the atmosphere of freedom in the factory district when I went there for the first time. Factory workers and artists shared the same open space. Everything pointed to it being an ideal place in which to create art." In many artists' eyes, 798 developed along similar lines as SoHo or Greenwich Village in New York. 798: Inside China's Art Zone by Wenya Huang. Top: A couple walk past the Graffiti Wall at the 798 Art Zone on Sept 21. Below: An exhibition depicting farmers' lives is staged at the 798 Art Zone this summer. Provided to China Daily, Di Feifei / China Daily. Area helped to transform Beijing, but now the landscape has changed. Huge fashion spreads cover brick walls. Shining steel adorns a maze of pipelines. Both are clear evidence that the days when cavernous concrete ceilings and obsolete machinery used to occupy the site of Beijing's 798 Art Zone have long gone. With the capital's urbanization, the Dashanzi area, which once stood on the outskirts, has become part of the city. Most of the old factories have disappeared. The zone was transformed with the arrival of artists around 10 years ago in what was billed as a "cradle of contemporary Chinese art". Huang Rui, one of the pioneers of Chinese contemporary art who was once unofficial spokesman for the 798 arts district, says, "The artists' hub reflected the ebb and flow of the development process, similar to that in the SoHo district of New York, but it has ended up quite differently." In 2002, Huang came across the factory area and, amazed by the Bauhaus-style space inside the warehouses, decided to stay. Texan arts book publisher Robert Bernell was the first foreigner from the arts world to arrive at 798, full of passion and enthusiasm for contemporary Chinese art. With belief in his promising artist friends and their dynamic works of art, he started his own publishing business, Timezone8, in 2002. Before moving in, he worked at Lucky Tower on the Third Ring Road in a small, drab office with dismal gray carpet and cheap, gypsum walls. With the need for more space, but with little money, he started to explore factories around Beijing. In 2000, the Beijing municipal authorities were moving factories out of the city fringes, leaving many industrial areas vacant. These factories had electricity, water and lots of space. They were on key transport routes and were cheap at the time. After looking at a number of factories, Bernell settled on 798 in 2002. It used to have a Muslim canteen where they made steamed buns and halvah, a dense, nougat-like dessert. The walls were caked with grease, there was a hole in the ceiling to accommodate an emissions vent, but it was only 0.6 yuan per square meter, or 2,000 yuan ($325 a month at today's rates). At the time, only 20 percent of the factory spaces were occupied. As artists started to work at 798, they also began to meet at Timezone8's coffee shop. Zheng Kuo, director of 798 Station, an independent documentary about the progress of 798 in the past 10 years, says: "I always remember the atmosphere of freedom in the factory district when I went there for the first time. Factory workers and artists shared the same open space.