1978 Cultural Creative Park Office | Lee Architectural & Engineering Design Group

Design agency: Lee Architectural & Engineering Design Group
Design team: Kings Lee, Paul Lee, Jason Lee, Peter Pan, Carol Liang, Lris Zhu
Area: 1,577 sqm
Date: July，2015
Location: Guangzhou, China

The headquarters office of 1978 Creative Park was formerly located at the workshop of Zengcheng paper mill, making people can't help thinking of the industrial situation at that time when they are at the reconstructed office. The history is brought to the present with the integration of new functions and modern design, carrying the memory of innovation.

As the sunshine goes through the skylight and falls on the old stone seat, we can see the time passing by slowly through the texture of the stone from the first sun rays in the morning to the sunset. It seems that people can perceive the past of the land, of one day, one year, one century or longer time. Building depends on the land below it. A three-storey old workshop is located on the roadside of the river, which the LAD Design Agency transformed into the headquarters office in 1978 cultural and creative park.

When we look at it on the road, we can see the entrance covered by large pieces of iron materials, where the iron and the old wall form strong contrast, guiding people to go into the office. The entire office space is linked up by this meandering staircase, including the reception room at the first floor, the group office space at the second floor, the director office at the third floor. Iron staircases are like the branches stretching out from the old plant, which creates a strong but not abrupt modern sense.

The reception room at the first floor is a simple modern space, which is used to buffer the hustle and bustle on the road, where visitors can stay for a while, or go on walking up the stairs. The dun iron material of the staircase is corroded slowly over time, and people can see its texture growing. Time defines it in rich, abstract and free mode. The circular holes at the roof of different sizes let the natural light wander on the stairs, bringing the most possible light into the room. The circular beam is like the spotlight of the stage, guiding people to focus on the texture of the stairs, and also making people follow the light to move ahead and explore the space. The droplight composed of straight lines spreads at the middle of the staircase, complementing the constantly changing natural light. Its light makes the space more balanced and peaceful, which brings stable visual feelings in the changing shadow. The staircase leads to the director office at the third floor, as well as the group office space at the second floor. In this way, the director office is relatively independent, and also easy for communicating with employees at any moment. Due to the connection of spiral stair at the second and third floor, it is easy and convenient to work.

Different from the compact city office, the big story height of the old workshop is reserved at the second floor, which is neat and decent without too many changes. People inside have wide view and free mind, able to communicate easily. The old stone seat reserved in the group office space is a concentrated expression of the spirit of the place, which highlights the image of the space. The sunshine penetrates the skylight and sprays on the old stone seat in the middle, flowing and changing along with time. The skylight and old stone seat echo each other just like a stage for the interpretation of the time. The rough texture of the stone is touched by the rays of sun from early morning to the sunset, making people think of the past of this land and feel the time.  It may be one day, one year, one century, or more.

The beautiful scenery of the city is the best decoration of the space, so the windows are only embedded with taggers only, to provide broader vision.

People have a panoramic view of the stretching gentle river scenery to the utmost extent, feeling inner peace and concentration. The old wall of the building is just varnished to show its original appearance. The linear droplight destroys the visual structure, with vertical and horizontal stretching lines enrich the space, making the space less boring.

The space carries the history, culture and custom of the place, and integrates new functions into it. Time is flowing slowly, and the buildings on the land is constantly renewed and changed, but the spirit of the place is immortal, meeting people's demand of the function and spirit.

The buildings stand on the land, changing in time.