Faculty of Management and Economics of Dalian University of Technology / UAD

Curated by 韩爽 - HAN Shuang

Architects: UAD
Area: 35998 m²
Year: 2019
Photographs:Qiang Zhao

Text description provided by the architects. Every one of Dalian University of Technology is familiar with grey buildings, and every student of the Faculty of Management and Economics bears an octagon building in mind. Architecture is rooted in environment, while it also breeds environment.

This project is the building of the Faculty of Management and Economics of Dalian University of Technology. Considering that the Faculty is within the field of the humanities, the building needs to provide an appropriate atmosphere for study and communication, apart from serving basic functions. Besides, as a building for an independent faculty, it needs its own enclosed and inward-facing spaces.

The enclosed spaces between the Faculty of Management and Economics and other surrounding faculties should present differences yet similarities. The attribute of the Faculty of Management and Economics (i.e. in the field of humanities)needs to be embodied by the building's interiors as well as the connection and transition between its functional areas.Furthermore, the overall building should be in harmony with the southwest corner of the plot and the transitional space between it and the main campus on the south.

The project fully takes site conditions into account, makes good use of natural and cultural resources, presents an appropriate layout that coordinates different functional areas, and considers overall image of the architecture, therebyproviding fantastic visual experience from every angle. It respects the surroundings, keeping a low profile.

Featuring grey bricks, stones, arched windows and curved porch at the entrance, the building follows the context of the campus, pursues optimized details to show the rich cultural heritage of the architecture and humanism of spaces, hence making architectural design and spatial expression ascend to a spiritual level.

The architecture is constructed with stones and bricks. Mottled stains formed by water overflowing from copper weep holes on the walls, and the stone sign on the greened riprap on the east side, tell the construction story in the past years. Shadows of arched windows and curved porch at the entrance move slowly from the ground to the wall as the sun moves. At dusk, birds hover over the entrance plaza on the west side, and sometimes stay on branches of pines that surround the stele at the center of entrance plaza.