Ennead Architects has been selected to design the new headquarters of electronics designer and manufacturer Xiaomi in Shenzhen. The winning design, which was a competition entry held in celebration of the company’s 10th anniversary, reflects the relationship between technology and daily life by integrating a digital interface into the fabric of the building. The structure resembles a Rubik's cube with a 360-degree LED screen surrounding the building’s podium, representing Xiaomi’s success and aspirations for the future.
Over the past year, established practices have continued to champion the transformation of existing structures, with adaptive reuse and renovations increasingly becoming a defining aspect of contemporary architecture From the renovation of landmark structures to the adaptive reuse of obsolete facilities, the idea of giving new life to existing buildings has been embraced as the premise for a more sustainable practice, but also as a means of reinforcing the urban and cultural identity of cities. Discover 8 designs and recently completed projects that showcase a new common practice of reusing existing building stock.
Ronald Lu & Partners designed a new transit-oriented development (TOD) in Shenzhen, reshaping a former industrial zone near Chiwan Port. The project builds on the firm's extensive experience with green architecture and TODs, proposing a biophilic development that restores nature in the area. Featuring a mixture of residential, business, commercial, and educational facilities, the design is set to become a key urban environment within the Greater Bay Area connecting Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macau.
MVRDV has recently completed the Idea Factory, transforming a disused factory into a creative hub with an important community-oriented focus. Located in Shenzhen's urban village of Nantou, the adaptive reuse project refurbishes the existing structure to accommodate offices while adding a new layer of public space. The latter takes the form of a rooftop bamboo landscape packed with activities and amenities that provides a new leisure space for the historically disadvantaged neighbourhood.
A new masterplan along the central Pailao River in Shenzhen proposes a climate-proof regeneration of the area, using nature and water retention ecological zones to mitigate the risk of flooding. Created by urban design and architecture practice VenhoevenCS, with landscape vision by Hope Design and water management plan by Huadong Engineering, the Pailao River Blueway Project capitalizes on the coexistence of the urban and the natural environment, ensuring resilience and enhancing the economic growth of the city district.
Ennead Architects have been chosen out of a three-part open international competition to design the new International Performance Center in Shenzhen, China. Dubbed 'The People’s Performing Arts Center', the project will be a part of a major cultural development that further marks the city as a metropolitan destination and reinforces the global arts community in the city.