Project-Beijing 1+1 Art Centre 北京1+1艺术中心
Year- 2015
Type- Open International Competition(awarded honorable mention)
Info- The aim of this design challenge to create a contemporary high-end conceptual showroom for showcasing and sales of collectible artworks and design objects. It will hold a unique collection in China that consist of handmade and limited edition objects of extraordinary artistic value. 1+1 Freeport Art Centre contains a couple of connected exhibition zones, with two main ones that are called ‘big gallery’ and ‘small gallery’. The main function of the overall space is supposed to stay unchanged – to be able to host exhibitions and events of different kind. The challenge is how to integrate a new function into existing space without compromising its exhibition capacities and spatial flexibility.
Building Gross Floor Area- 1,300m2

Concept-Silk Dream
Silk was once a precious gift from China to the west; it was so significant that the lucrative trade of silk paved the civilisation along the Silk Road. Modernity as western invention has shaped the modern world with new character and radically changes today’s lifestyle from the past. Beijing 1+1 Gallery’s design is about carving a series of blurry and dream like spaces inspired by rich fabric of silk and the design is conveyed via modern design language. It is about merging of Ancient and Modern, the East and the West. Skin of the interior aka walls and 3.1 height ceiling is crafted by layers of screens made of 5mm diameter black painted mild steel rods. The vertical rods will serve as structural backbone for art works and it can be customised to be a support for furniture like reception counter or horizontal shelves for the display of art. The vertical rods can be installed and dismantled easily with a pre-assigned position on m.s. beam on top and m.s. base plate on the floor. To differentiate hustle bustle of real life and the world of art, translucent glass is added to the existing curtain wall on the entrance façade. With this arrangement, creating a calmer uninterrupted inner atmosphere is possible. The 50mm diameter m.s. poles are suggested as structural support for the entrance canopy. Its integration is not just to complement main design theme of the interior, but also blend in to the context of existing building behind. New folding glass doors will be installed to allow delivery of large scale art works. The Program remains faithful to the existing with minor shifting of a door at store room to enable direct connection between lounge and the show room. Apart from the screens, this design suggests an upgrading of lighting design in order to acheieve rich visual experience. Existing white wall will be highlighted with floor lights, contrasted by new black screens in front, thus creating a rich and dream like interior spaces.