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Fun Factory Nanjing

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Main hall - Sensor Images
Shading entrance - Sensor Images
Auditorium - Sensor Images
Main hall - Sensor Images

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Comments
Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
JURY VOTES
Cultural Space
5.85
5.49
5.68
5.53
5.64
Jason Traves
Jason Traves Chief Creative Officer at Lucky Fox
8
8
7
6
7.25
Jasper Blüm
Jasper Blüm Senior Designer at Colliers
6
6
7
6
6.25
William Barrington-Binns
William Barrington-Binns Director of Photography at WBB & Co.
7
6
8
6
6.75
Corien Pompe
Corien Pompe Chairman and Founder at Donna e Mobile
5
7
7
5
6
Anastasia Karandinou
Anastasia Karandinou Architect, Senior Lecturer at University of East London
It would be great to also see a ful...
6
8
6
7
6.75
Chen Xiaohu
Chen Xiaohu Cofounder and Brand Director at BloomDesign
6
7
6
7
6.5
Bret Recor
Bret Recor Founder & Creative Director at Box Clever
7
8
7
6
7
Joanna van der Linden
Joanna van der Linden Global Retail Identity & Design Manager at Nestlé Nespresso
7
8
8
5
7
Johnny Chiu
Johnny Chiu Founder at J.C. Architecture
6
8
6
6
6.5
Richard Parr
Richard Parr Founder at Richard Parr Associates
4
8
7
4
5.75
Li Baolong
Li Baolong Cofounder and Creative Director at BloomDesign
6
8
7
6
6.75
Stefano Giussani
Stefano Giussani CEO at Lissoni New York
6
7
7
6
6.5
Client
Fun Factory
Floor area
300 ㎡
Completion
2021
Budget
$100K - 200K
Furniture

Before this project, there was no complete and standardized stand-up comedy theater for reference in China. At the very beginning, stand-up comedies were normally performed in temporary places such as bars and restaurants. With the increasing attention, the actors began to walk into large theaters. But these theaters are still not built for the stand-up comedies. With the continuous development of the domestic stand-up comedy and the rise of the mass market foundation, how to establish a sustainable and standardized theater typology becomes their main topic. 

Compared with the narrative methods of other drama types, stand-up comedies pay more attention to the peer-to-peer interactive experience between the actors and the audience, that is the physical close dialogue experience, and the psychological zero distance empathy. Therefore, what they need to care about most in designing this kind of space is the sense of distance between actors and audience. And this sense of distance is embodied in the physical, optical and acoustic spaces, aiming to make the audience feel close to the actors and the stage. 

This is the first time the brand has opened up a new venue in a city other than Shanghai. After two years of observation and precipitation, this time they are no longer entangled in how to be "seen" in the first appearance. They focus more on analyzing a phased paradigm of stand-up comedy theater, and deeply explore the interrelationships and roles among theater, actors, and audience. 

The outer field is an indispensable transitional scene around the theater, and they tend to conceptually define it as "PARTY" and "RAW". They hope the design would deliver more meaning than just watching the performance. Therefore, in terms of design methods, they hardly worried whether the style and materials are fashionable enough, and even deliberately weaken the artificial decoration factors of the outer field. For example, they choose bricks, cement, wall coverings and other basic materials to express the main structure of the site through simple design integration. And through the combination of light and shadow, the formation of the audience's settlement and the theme of PARTY are guided. 

The inner field design combines the special requirements of the stand-up comedy as a performance mode, and refers to the design ideas of other theaters. For the first time, the central control studio is introduced in the design of stand-up comedy theaters, so as to instantly control the atmosphere of the whole performance. The planning and moving circulation including the backstage supporting space and the theater operation space have been reorganized. 

The audience would expect more when they enter the theater. It can be said that they are for happiness, or trying to escape from reality. The space design of the stand-up comedy should also echo a sense of "unreality", giving people more expectations.