Articles by 韩双羽 - HAN Shuangyu

This is the office expansion project for Script Architecture Studio. Previously, it was an old state-owned machine tool workshop located in a Beijing hutong. Amid urban renewal, the old factory area was transformed into a creative park combining office and commercial spaces. The original open workshop was divided into 4.2m x 8.5m units based on column spans, intended for small businesses. Script Architecture Studio initially occupied one unit. As the team grew, the studio rented an adjacent unit. This pattern of expansion and retraction has happened many times, leading to multiple renovations. The east and west partition walls are now a collage of red bricks and light steel keel structures. On the south side of each unit is a large window, 2.9m wide and 2.3m high, outside of which stands a tall Ailanthus tree. In spring and summer, entering from the north corridor, the space is filled with green.

In late 2022, the independent bookstore Jetlag Books, based in Beijing, approached us with a collaboration opportunity with the Swire Group. Their vision was to create a “new generation urban newsstand” in Sanlitun North, a temporary public cultural project blending community engagement with the charm of an independent bookstore, aiming to reintegrate reading into daily life. We were invited to design this temporary structure, intending to infuse emotion and reflection into the bustling urban environment.

As an exhibit, “La Patella” navigates the constraints of a limited budget and a modest scale. Crafting impactful interventions based on the designated site is imperative, and it is from this straightforward vision that “La Patella” emerged.

The site is set back 4 meters from the street, with a 6-meter-high, 3-meter-wide banyan tree in front, obscuring the shop from view. Consequently, the client has requested ways to “open up” the space to draw consumers into the shop. Additionally, they seek to develop a sustainable and profitable business model with limited resources.

“Old” here is both an adjective and a verb. “Old Church” is an event about time construction. The “Old Church” is the first realised public building of Arana Jiulong Lake Comminity in Huadu of Guangzhou. The original site of is a simulated church building of a “European Town” theme park. The building locates on the south-east conner of the town and faces the mainentrance of the community. Arana hopes it will become the first spiritual symbol for the community. The original building can be regarded as a local projection of the West, and its construction began roughly fifteen years ago. How to resolve the dislocation between the history reflected by the image and its construction history has become a speculative issue in the “Church” renewal project. Therefore what the church needs to construct is not space, but time.

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Introducing a Fresh Narrative to a Lobby Cafe. In the heart of Shanghai’s bustling Jing’an district, Nodi, a brand born from the rich tapestry of Hong Kong’s coffee culture, unveils its latest creation. Nodi, deriving its name from the Latin word for “knot,” embodies the spirit of connection—between people, places, and the passionate ritual of coffee. This young, artisan coffee brand has carved a niche for itself by transforming the simple act of drinking coffee into a conduit for human interaction and creativity. It makes its debut in the greater China region with its inaugural shop nestled within the iconic Jing’an Kerry Centre—just steps away from Vogue China’s headquarters. Surrounded by giants like Blue Bottle, %Arabica, Fuel, and Starbucks Reserve, Nodi introduces a fresh narrative to the coffee experience.

As the brand’s first store in Jinan, the client aims to create a space that integrates with the city. Jinan has a long history, with a mix of old and new cityscapes. The core of this project is to reflect this dialogue in the design.