A new workspace experience. Y20 SPACE by WJ Design
26/04/2019.
[Hangzhou Shi] China
metalocus, BLANCA VÁZQUEZ
metalocus, BLANCA VÁZQUEZ
WJ Design carried out the office space transformation of a preexistent building in the Hongyuan Park, located inside the famous Hangzhou XiXi Wetland. The area, surrounded by a charming natural scenery and a profound historical culture, is currently attracting a large number of small and medium enterprises.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 Space by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
Y20 SPACE by WJ Design. Photograph by Qiang Shen.
First floor plan. Y20 SPACE by WJ Design.
Second floor plan. Y20 SPACE by WJ Design.
Section. Y20 SPACE by WJ Design.
Section. Y20 SPACE by WJ Design.
The aim of WJ Design was to make a difference from the traditional workspace in the neighborhood, by designing a space for office work, business conferences, activities, presentations and exhibitions. The project seeks to create a user experience similar to WEWORK shared workspaces.
The studio carried out the overall design of the space from the point of view of the positioning and functionality: sound-absorbing walls were used to make the space less noisy, as the high ceilings of the building caused a loud echo. Moreover, some preserved spaces make the building flexible towards future demands.
To enhance the connection of the workspace with the landscape, the original main entrance was changed into a sunken yard to be used in leisure time. Some of the preexisting interior spaces were relatively narrow and lack sunlight, so their walls were changed into glass. The round holes in the original building wall were preserved as windows.
Description of project by WJ Design
Y20 SPACE is located in the famous XiXi Wetland of Hangzhou and surrounded by charming natural scenery and profound historical culture. This area is attracting a large number of small and medium enterprises. It will be a space for office work, business conference, activities, presentations and exhibitions in the future.
The landscape of the original main entrance of the building is very good, so we changed it into sunken yard to let people to spend their leisure time here. The original building itself is like a letter Y, so the streamline of the indoor space is designed to act in coordination with the building. The holes in the original building wall are well preserved, just like eyes of the space soul.
Due to the limitations of the construction some parts of the interior space are relatively narrow and lack sun light. We changed some walls into glass so we could make a connection between the indoor and outdoor. Also we used a lot of natural material to make the people here can feel the seasons change.
We think that design is not a skill, but a sense of perception and insight that captures the nature of things. The main concern is not the form, the space or the image, but the user’ s experience. Space is invisible but it is as rich as life and full of dynamic just like breeze, you can’t see it but you can always feel it. This is a kind of new work environment experience that we always want to bring to people.
More information
Architects
WJ Design. Lead designer.- Leo Hu
Design team
Xingbo Ying
Collaborators
Light.- SIKI.
Client
Hangzhou Aicai Network Technology Co., Ltd
Builder
Hangzhou Jiechuang Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd.
Area
700 m²
Dates
January, 2018
Leo Hu, Hongfei Yan. WJ Design
Leo Hu. Founder and design director of WJ Design. He graduated from China Academy of Art. He once worked at PROSHMA and GOA, an also worked as technical director with Renzo Piano on Mr. Piano’s first project in China. In 2014, he founded WJ Design and leads the team to complete nearly one hundred projects in the last four years.
His works have won a lot of international awards and participate in the INSIDE World Interior Design Award (2017–2018) for two consecutive years. He was awarded INSIDE Highly Commended (2018), Hong Kong. A&D Award (2018), Germany GDA Award (2017). He was named IDPA China-Japan International Pioneer Design Award - TOP10 International Most Influential Designer (2018), AD100 Elite Designer (2017).
His works have won a lot of international awards and participate in the INSIDE World Interior Design Award (2017–2018) for two consecutive years. He was awarded INSIDE Highly Commended (2018), Hong Kong. A&D Award (2018), Germany GDA Award (2017). He was named IDPA China-Japan International Pioneer Design Award - TOP10 International Most Influential Designer (2018), AD100 Elite Designer (2017).
In the current diversified architectural design, modern buildings are more aggressive, without the presentation of the initial aesthetic feeling of a building. Leo believes that architecture is recognized by time and memory. The aesthetics of the Orientals pay more attention to the initial natural beauty expressed by things themselves rather than the expression of their forms, and so are buildings. When we want to express its original beauty, we need to think about the true meaning of architecture for us, and see the truth of the object. The concept “less is more” is about more discovery less artificial design.
Hongfei Yan. Founder and design director of WJ Design. Design elite of modern decoration International Media Awards of 2014.
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