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Architects: LYCS Architecture
- Area: 1625 m²
- Year: 2020
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Photographs:Qingshan Wu
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Manufacturers: Nippon Paint, St. Quercus, Xuhui metal
Text description provided by the architects. With the integration of architecture, interior, and FF&E renovation design by LYCS Architecture, the KINCANG Business School has now officially been put into use. Located in the famous picturesque Keyan Scenic Area of Shaoxing, this project takes corporate job training as its main function.
“Serenity amidst the Bustle.” The KINCANG Business School is located on the bank of Jian Lake, where the Chinese traditional black-awning boats travel frequently and ceaselessly. Many great figures, including the founder of Republic of China Sun Yat-sen, the first Premier of the People's Republic of China Zhou Enlai, and the prominent modern Chinese writer Lu Xun, have ever boated and enjoyed themselves on the lake, which contributes to the unique landscape of the so-called “Boating on the South Lake in Autumn”. Facing toward the limpid water and with its back to the green mountains, the KINCANG Business School is only kept away from the bustling and teeming city by a hill, and thus maintains a subtle in-between relation to the city, which contributes to its unique feature of “finding the serenity amidst the bustle”.
This project consists of two renovated Chinese antique buildings, which are a two-story L-shaped courtyard house and a three-story quadrangle house respectively. Although the complex decoration style of the architectural facade is a little outdated, the roof corners made specifically by the Shaoxing prominent craftsmen are undoubtedly very authentic. Following the fundamental principle of “absorbing its essence and discarding its dross”, the design team has retained some exquisite parts of the buildings and introduced a new order so as to meet the needs of the modern workplace. They have proposed the following strategies: the ”Resort-style Workplace”.
The “Highly Composite” Functional Configuration. In contrast to the functional configuration of the traditional work, the resort-style workplace satisfies the basic needs of work, conference and so on. Furthermore, it is added extensively by the design team such functions as a residence, hosting, catering, and live broadcasting in order to meet the contemporary special demands of closed training and research.
Aiming at achieving the perfect balance of work and rest, the design team have taken the volume, the location and other elements into account, and thus made the functional positioning for the two buildings respectively: on the one hand, the L-shaped courtyard house has a smaller volume with the main function of leisure and hosting, making itself more private and quieter.
On the other hand, in terms of the quadrangle one, with a larger volume, it is more qualified with the main functions such as working and meeting, and also more open to the public.
The “Immersive” introduction of Landscape. The most intuitive experience the design team wants to bring to the users is that "you can have the free sunshine, the air, and the scenery whenever you look up, even if the work on the screen remains mechanical and the same”. In this case, the working environment will be filled with nature that can be seen everywhere, allowing users to keep the perfect balance between work and rest and then forming a relaxing and pleasant "resort-style" working atmosphere.
With the tailor-made windows for each interior space by the design team, it will satisfy the lighting needs of the modern workplace, making the outdoor natural scenery transformed into the indoor wonderful "painting". Moreover, it will rightly serve as the unique "picture frame" on the building facade.
The "Scenerized” Space Shaping. With the distinctive help of landscaping public space, the design team has constructed a new scenery within the buildings, creating a cohesive and stable working atmosphere effectively. Combining the sloping roof on all sides of the atrium which serving as the visual core of the courtyard house, the design team has transformed the courtyard into a waterscape. In this way, during the rainy season, rain drips from the eaves and then flows into the atrium, contributing to a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere.
The floor-to-ceiling glass wraps around the atrium, blurring the boundary between interior and exterior. Instead of the common solid wall, the "wooden screens" are specially used on the inside of the circular corridor. The translucent U-shaped glass vaguely extends the green landscape of the site into the interior, separating the space while at the same time maintaining its functionality and privacy. In this way, these settings subtly form a kind of ambiguous and interesting space atmosphere.
The collision finally happens on the facade of the buildings between the retained "organicity" of traditional Chinese architectures and the newly established "orthogonality" of the renovation design, creating a strong visual impact and a delicate sense of balance among different elements.
“New Species.” With the help of these unique design strategies above, the KINCANG Business School provides a wholly new possibility to the traditional working model of headquarters, fully demonstrating the idea of a "resort-style workplace" and setting the new standards in quality, comfort, and flexibility.
