Photographer: Runzi Zhu | ArchDaily

Tree Tavern & Cave Teahouse / ARC Z Architects + Practice on Earth

Andreas Luco — Wed, 13 May 2026 07:00:00 +0000

Familiar Novelty | Nostalgic Naivety — Under Fengyuzhu's overall curation, the village has been repositioned as the Ancient Banyan Literary Village. As a node within this larger framework, the project needed to do more than produce an architectural expression; it had to balance curatorial narrative, intensified new programs, and the memory of the site. From the outset, we approached the intervention with caution: the two houses still maintained a quiet relationship with the ancestral hall, and their original character deserved to be preserved. Yet the village fabric had already been fragmented by surrounding new villas, while the old houses themselves could hardly support the incoming programs of a tavern and a tea room.

The Relocation and Expansion Project of Wuning Middle School / Atelier Archmixing

Andreas Luco — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 02:00:00 +0000

Immersed in the City - The Relocation and Expansion Project of Wuning Middle School in Putuo District, Shanghai — The relocation and expansion project of Wuning Middle School (now name as The Second High School Affiliated to Tongji University) is situated at 186 Dongxin Road, Putuo District. This site is located within the Inner Ring area of Shanghai, surrounded by densely populated residential neighborhoods. To the north, it borders directly on Light Rail Line 3 and the Inner Ring Highway. This location experiences heavy traffic volumes and features high building density. After arguments by the relevant urban planning authorities, it has been decided to relocate the school from the northwest to the southeast side of the site through a land swap strategy. This new strategy will provide efficient space for a modern secondary school with an expanded capacity of 40 classes.

Qingjiang Furong Pavilions / FLIP studio

韩爽 - HAN Shuang — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 02:00:00 +0000

The town of Qingjiang lies between the northern foothills of the Yandang Mountains and Yueqing Bay, with the Furong Pond area at the heart of its regional ecological corridor. Against the backdrop of growing suburban agro-cultural tourism, the project centers on Furong Pond, establishing two key landscape nodes: one at the Ecological Island Wharf and the other at Qingyang Park on the opposite shore. By reviving a short-distance ferry route, the initiative aims to create a distinctive water-based ecological and cultural destination for Qingjiang.

Expansion and Renovation of Primary School & Urban Infrastructure Multi-system Complex / Atelier Archmixing

Pilar Caballero — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 02:00:00 +0000

This increasingly complex project emerged from an interactive process and key breakthroughs by both the government and architects — through ongoing coordination and integration, architects drive the joint renewal of urban and educational spaces. It represents a process of architects' proactive intervention and comprehensive resolution of urban architectural renewal needs. The project site features a narrow and elongated shape, with Kunshan Experimental Primary School to the east, adjacent to Kunshan Industrial Technology Research Institute to the west. And it connects two major urban green spaces, Dayu Lake Park and Kunshan Forest Park, at its north and south ends.

Obsolete Typologies Revived Through 17 Adaptive Reuse Projects

Hadir Al Koshta — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Adaptive reuse is shifting from simple preservation to active revitalization, a process of structurally rescuing and reprogramming architectural typologies whose original functions are no longer relevant. The obsolescence of architectural spaces occurs for varied reasons: sociological shifts, leaving spaces uninhabited; technological advances, phasing out specific machinery; and economic changes, making centralized functions necessary. The strategy of repurposing focuses on achieving spatial and functional longevity through minimal interventions, allowing the original structure to serve as the memory anchor of the project.

Interior Design of Fanshan Alunite Crystallization Ponds / FLIP studio

Andreas Luco — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Fanshan Alunite Mine in Lujiang, Hefei is an industrial heritage site of profound historical significance. After market decline in the 1990s, the mine ceased operations in 2001. The end of its prosperity left behind not only dilapidated factories and the crystallization ponds but also a deteriorating ecological environment. The unique historical value and spatial potential of this once-powerful industrial core nearly faded into oblivion over time.

The Yard, Dalian Cultural Center / Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Our design for a new mixed-use creative development is located in the heart of Dalian in close proximity to university campuses and software parks. The existing compound comprises 6 buildings dating back 40 years, which formerly served as offices, warehouses, and dormitories for a chemical research institute. Our design challenge was to find an architectural language that could unify the buildings which all have varying heights and distinct facades which have undergone previous renovation efforts. The most prominent building within the site is a former workers dormitory featuring a series of wooden gates and garage stalls used for repairs in the past.

Spaces for Browsing: Balancing Commerce and Community in the Design of Bookstores

Olivia Poston — Sat, 07 Jun 2025 07:30:00 +0000

The contemporary bookstore is a paradoxical space. It is commercial, but rarely commercialized; public, but often privately owned; small in scale, but expansive in impact. As adjacent architectural typologies evolve under the pressures of digital consumption, economic precarity, and changing social habits, the bookstore has not dimensioned, but adapted to the twenty first century. It is not a site for private or institutional literary exchange, but a spatial hybrid that accommodates ritual, rest, performance, and socialization.

% Arabica Shanghai EXPO World / Nguyen Khai Architects & Associates

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Surrounded by many commercial towers and office buildings, this % Arabica store boasts its prime position as the heart of a relaxing and chilling space. It welcomes customers from many directions, with choices of indoor and outdoor seating.

the Breeze Hall / SHISUO design office

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Breeze Hall is located in Lu Xun Park, the most important memorial park in Shanghai. It originated from a patch of mixed woods on the south side of the Lu Xun Memorial Museum, which was fenced off and designated as a dead corner left by urban development. In 2023, SHISUO Design Office was commissioned to reorganize this site—some trees were transplanted to the south, creating a walkway together with the existing trees in front of the Lu Xun Memorial Museum, and also providing a soft boundary for the new building. Other trees were moved to the flanks of the site, forming a large enclosed open space. Large trees and bamboo within the site were retained, and the newly placed pathways harmoniously interacted with them——All these adjustments endow the site with greater publicness.

Wuzhen Vessel Hotel Façade Design / workshopXZ

Pilar Caballero — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 02:00:00 +0000

The Wuzhen Vessel Hotel stands adjacent to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, nestled in the northwest corner of the Wuzhen Scenic Area, renowned as one of China's last waterside dwellings. Boasting 493 rooms along with diverse dining options and fitness facilities, it is the largest hotel in the area. Embodying the concept of a Chinese barque moored in a harbor, the hotel's design intricately weaves traditional Chinese motifs with modern materials and technologies.

Blue Bottle Coffee Columbia Circle Cafe / Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

韩爽 — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 02:00:00 +0000

Shanghai’s Columbia Circle began as a country club for expatriates in the 20s, became an industrial park in the 50s with the addition of 11 buildings, and most recently was renovated by OMA in 2016 into a vibrant mixed-use hub, now regarded as one of Shanghai's most successful urban regeneration projects. In the southern portion of Columbia Circle, where the emphasis is on public cultural activity spaces, Blue Bottle Coffee commissioned Neri&Hu to design a cafe that would exemplify their brand value of community culture, inviting people to connect and exchange over coffee.

3 to 1 Pavilion / TEMP

韩爽 — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

3-to-1 Pavilion is a contemporary wooden pavilion nestled in a lush garden setting in Shanghai, designed as a serene sanctuary for tea drinking. This contemporary structure embodies the interplay between time (时间), space (空间), and people (人间), emphasizing the concept of 'in-between' or 'interstitial' spaces. The pavilion serves as a place for tea ceremonies, contemplative rituals, and social gatherings, encapsulating the essence of tranquility and self-reflection.

coffea SHED Columbia Circle Store / kooo architects

Pilar Caballero — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 19:00:00 +0000

This site is located in Building 3 of COLUMBIA CIRCLE. Historically, this area served as the Columbia Country Club, a recreational destination for Western residents of Shanghai during the concession era. Following a renovation and redesign by OMA in 2018, it reopened as "COLUMBIA CIRCLE". coffee SHED is a coffee agriculture retail space. It opens to the public square and the community and becomes a daily gathering place for residents. Coffee, agricultural and sideline products and daily necessities are sold here.

the Coffee Shed of Luxun Park / SHISUO design office

Andreas Luco — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Urbanization has long been seen as a process that deviates from nature. In such process, people in cities gradually drift away from nature. For a long time, the cost of acquiring buildings has inevitably involved burying water bodies, cutting down trees, or encroaching on fields until people have become numb. However, humans themselves originate from nature, and the desire to coexist with nature is instinctual. The Coffee Shed of Luxun Park reflects our contemplation on the dichotomy between artificial and natural—how man-made structures, as buildings, can coexist, symbiotically create with nature.

JUANZONG Books & Cafe / CASE PAVILION

Valeria Silva — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 01:00:00 +0000

In 2021, Haikou City initiated a series of cultural projects titled "Pavilions by the Sea," aimed at providing citizens with interdisciplinary and intellectually engaging public entertainment spaces. As one of the 16 coastal pavilions, "Mountain of the Sky" has become the second new urban landmark built at the northern end of Haikou Bay. Facing the southwest coast, the Sou Fujimoto Architects crafted an undulating, continuous ring-shaped roof with an irregular, curved surface shell structure made of thin concrete. Invited by Aranya and the operators, Juanzhong Bookstore and Yishan Children's Bookstore, we designed a space for reading and relaxation for the citizens of Haikou under this expansive roof.

Dafeng Timber Structure Research and Design Center / CATS

Andreas Luco — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

House of Woodwork was a mental odyssey about how to use wood to create contemporary buildings. We've gone a long way, but we've come back to three basic anchors.

In the PARK Regular Store / CASE PAVILION

Collin Chen — Sun, 02 Jul 2023 19:00:00 +0000

Located in the southern suburbs of Chengdu, Dayuan Central Park used to be an abandoned landfill site until the 1990s. In response to the southward expansion of Chengdu's urbanization, the area was restored into an ecologically-friendly urban park through soil improvement. One of the sunken courtyards is planted with various vegetation, forming a three-dimensional green screen.