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Warehouse No. 9

Ease Studio

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Bronze
Bronze
F1_Gallery - Gao Hanzhi
F2_Gallery/Open working space - Gao Hanzhi
Facade - Gao Hanzhi
F1_Gallery - Gao Hanzhi

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Comments
Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
JURY VOTES
Cultural Space
6.97
7.14
7.12
6.67
6.98
Matthew Senkowycz
Matthew Senkowycz Cofounder at Loom Atelier
I find the created spaces engaging,...
6
6
6
7.5
6.38
Laura Guido-Clark
Laura Guido-Clark Founder at Love Good Color
7.27
7.4
7.28
5
6.74
Angela Lindahl
Angela Lindahl Cofounder at Yatofo Creatives
7.46
6.21
7.71
7.52
7.23
Matyas Simonyi
Matyas Simonyi Creative Director at Tom Postma Design
5.78
7.54
7.02
8.06
7.1
Alda Ly
Alda Ly Founder and Principal at ALA Studio
6.5
6.5
7
6
6.5
Amalia Ramírez
Amalia Ramírez Founder and Design Director at ar_ea
8
8
8
7
7.75
Simon Hamilton
Simon Hamilton Founder at Simon Hamilton Creative
7.14
7.7
6.47
3.45
6.19
Maria Felicitas Navia
Maria Felicitas Navia Founder at OHIO Estudio
7
7
7
7
7
Lyanne Oosterhof
Lyanne Oosterhof Senior Interior Architect at Mecanoo
6
7
6.5
8
6.88
Roman Vrtiška
Roman Vrtiška Cofounder at Vrtiška & Žák
7
8
7.5
7.5
7.5
Shuhei Aoyama
Shuhei Aoyama Founder and Director at B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio
8
7.3
8
7
7.58
Nataša Stanaćev
Nataša Stanaćev Founding Partner at Stanaćev Granados
7.5
7
7
6
6.88
Comments
Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
JURY VOTES
Material
6.72
6.99
6.84
5.80
6.59
Matthew Senkowycz
Matthew Senkowycz Cofounder at Loom Atelier
I find the created spaces engaging,...
6
6
6
5
5.75
Laura Guido-Clark
Laura Guido-Clark Founder at Love Good Color
Can definitely feel the peeling awa...
7
7.5
7.25
5
6.69
Angela Lindahl
Angela Lindahl Cofounder at Yatofo Creatives
6
6
6
5
5.75
Matyas Simonyi
Matyas Simonyi Creative Director at Tom Postma Design
5.15
7.23
5
5.47
5.71
Alda Ly
Alda Ly Founder and Principal at ALA Studio
6.5
6.5
7
6
6.5
Amalia Ramírez
Amalia Ramírez Founder and Design Director at ar_ea
8
8
8
7
7.75
Simon Hamilton
Simon Hamilton Founder at Simon Hamilton Creative
6.81
6.58
6.7
2.44
5.63
Maria Felicitas Navia
Maria Felicitas Navia Founder at OHIO Estudio
6.5
7
7
7
6.88
Lyanne Oosterhof
Lyanne Oosterhof Senior Interior Architect at Mecanoo
7
7
8
7
7.25
Roman Vrtiška
Roman Vrtiška Cofounder at Vrtiška & Žák
7
7.5
6.5
8
7.25
Shuhei Aoyama
Shuhei Aoyama Founder and Director at B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio
7.7
7.6
7.6
6.7
7.4
Nataša Stanaćev
Nataša Stanaćev Founding Partner at Stanaćev Granados
7
7
7
5
6.5
Designer
Client
Traverse
Floor area
118 ㎡
Completion
2023
Budget
3 million rmb

In the summer of 2022 we were commissioned to transform the Warehouse No.9 of the former Beijing Textile Factory built in the 1950s into a contemporary art space “traverse”. Deeply inspired by the vision of the newly founded private non-profit art institution to become an "artistic", more importantly an "empty" place, in which calm and sensitive minds are protected in a time of ever-accelerating replacement of old with new, one the most important design objectives was set to create a non-barrier free space, and a hollow shell waiting to be injected with meanings.

The final design took a minimalist approach of using cast concrete as both the structure and finish. The 8-meter high existing open shell of the humble red brick warehouse is vertically rearranged into four different levels: the first floor as the main gallery, second floor accommodating two office rooms and the restroom, the mezzanine level of second floor as a lecture room and library, and finally the rooftop terrace. Any visitor is encouraged to walk freely in between the levels and all the way up to the roof.

The crafting process of the space resembles an archaeological site. If this textile warehouse built in the 1950s is a dusty book, then everything began with reading it. As the design and construction proceeded, we realized that there was so much hidden information in the book that it became unnecessary to add anything new. Simply by revealing the hidden information we would have a story rich enough. Ultimately, all we did was tell the “story”.

If a keyword is needed to specify the motion, we think it should be "peeling": removing all the "camouflages" and "coverings" on the surface to expose the inside. As construction moved on, more and more hidden stories were "discovered". Even the new elements we tried to add to the story quickly outdated and turned into new "archaeological sites". The design was not about addition, but about subtraction.