Renovation of Key Interior Public Spaces at the Industrial Heritage of Jinpi Fang (Kingway Brewery)

The industrial factory building of Kingway Beer, Shenzhen's exclusive local brew, has been transformed into a cultural landmark that encapsulates the collective urban memory of generations as the city evolves.

The brewery functions as a tangible repository of industrial heritage and collective urban memory. The interior renovation design is crafted to systematically record, sort, preserve, refine, reinterpret, and reappear. The goal is to achieve a delicate coexistence of the old and the new, showcasing the contrasts, tensions, interactions, and dynamic balance between them, while invoking historical recollections and future aspirations.

The first floor of building D2 now houses a permanent exhibition space, originally part of the factory's fermentation tank workshop. This area retains the most intact and concentrated elements, including pipelines and tanks. It not only serves as a vital exhibit for understanding the beer brewing process but also stands as an integral part of the brewery's industrial heritage—a significant testament to its historical memory. Adhering to the principle of "minimal intervention," the design process involves meticulous documentation, modeling, sorting, dismantling, relocation, and restoration of original, partially damaged wall and floor tiles, complex equipment pipelines on the ceiling, and stainless-steel brewing equipment that has endured decades of use.

Infrastructural additions for the exhibition hall's future operation utilized 3D scanning and BIM technologies to minimize cutting and displacement of existing pipelines and equipment. To accentuate the contrast between old and new, existing materials were used in an alienated manner, and components were artistically remade with alienated material to preserve traces of time.

The original wall tiles and drainage channels, reflecting the workshop's once wet environment, were retained. Drawing inspiration from the restoration of fractured porcelain artifacts, a technique akin to Kintsugi was applied to restore the damaged tiles. Golden mortar was used to fill and highlight the damaged areas, symbolizing the golden liquid that once flowed through them and the "golden age" they represented. Stainless-steel gratings and concealed flush lights were added to the channels, along with moss for a touch of green and vitality.

To meet fire safety requirements, the old aluminum windows on the walls were sealed off. Instead of replacing them with solid walls, the team repurposed the removed windows to create molds and cast 1:1 GFRC replacement "windows."

In the new additions, such as the D1 auditorium and restrooms, the renovation strategy centered on reinstating industrial architectural elements. This included features such as factory lights, exposed HVAC pipes and ducts, raw concrete, and the return of materials like stainless steel, white tiles, and warm red terra cotta panels used in the existing building, rebuilding the connection between the "new" and the "old".