Renovation of the industrial heritage of Jinpi Fang | Studio 10

Due to its unique geographical location, Luohu District is the pioneer of the urban modernization process of Shenzhen. It was also one of the earliest and fastest developing areas after the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. As the only and most well-known locally brewed beer brand, Kingway Beer has witnessed shift in the role of the brewery factory from an industrial building to a cultural landmark, along with the urban development of the Luohu district, carrying the collective urban memory of several generations of Shenzhen people, both in material and non-material aspects.

The renewal and revitalization of the industrial heritage of the original brewery was led by Urbanus, while we were responsible for the renovation design of some of the key interior public spaces. We believe that the strategy for preserving and utilizing industrial heritage goes beyond a simple choice between either "maintaining the old as it is" or "making the old new again." Instead, it involves preserving the essence of the "old" while showcasing the contrasts, tensions, interactions, and dynamic balance between the old and the new, evoking historical memories and future aspirations. The original Kingway Brewery, as a material carrier of industrial heritage and collective urban memory, serves as the foundation for our interior transformation design strategy. This strategy involves the processes of systematic recording and sorting, followed by further preserving, refining, reinterpreting, and reappearing.

The permanent exhibition space on the first floor of D2 was originally a part of the factory's fermentation tank workshop, retaining the most intact and concentrated area of pipelines and tanks. According to the overall planning and positioning, the workshop space and equipment as a whole is the integral components of the industrial heritage. It not only serves as a preserved and showcased area for the physical space and tangible equipment of the brewery workshop, but also stands as significant evidence of the brewery's historical memory. It remains a crucial exhibit for people to understand and experience the beer brewing process during the early years of Shenzhen’s reform and opening up. Therefore, the design follows the principle of "minimal intervention." During the renovation, we carefully documented, modeled, sorted, dismantled, relocated, and restored the original but partially damaged wall and floor tiles within the space, the complex equipment pipelines on the ceiling, and the stainless-steel brewing equipment imported from Germany that still gleamed like new after decades of use. Much like archaeologists carefully excavating and marking archaeological sites or museum experts meticulously restoring precious artifacts.

To emphasize the contrast between the new and the old, existing material in space was used in an alienated way, and existing components were re-made with alienated material.

The original wall/floor tiles and the drainage channels, both of which suggest the former wet and humid working environment of the fermentation tank workshop, have been retained. For the damaged tiles, we employed a technique inspired by the restoration of fractured porcelain artifacts, aka. Kintsugi, which involves using golden mortar to fill and highlight the damaged and missing areas. This process symbolizes the golden liquid that once flowed through here and the "golden age" it represented. The drainage channels were refurbished and repaved with stainless-steel gratings. Hidden within the channels are spotlights that evenly illuminate the preserved stainless-steel tanks, pipelines, and valves through the gratings. Additionally, green moss is planted at the bottom of the channels, infusing the space with a sense of vitality and greenery. When adding infrastructure such as equipment, lighting, pipe and conduits to ensure the post-operation of the exhibition hall, we have also relied on technologies such as 3D scanning, BIM to locate and sort out, marking carefully on site, trying to make use or dodge the existing pipelines and equipment, minimize its cutting and displacement. Those pipelines and equipment that could not be avoided or reinforced on site and had to be partially removed or dismantled were marked and moved or transported to warehouses for proper storage, which would then be reused by artists and tenants for other innovative re-creations.

Metal pipes have also connected the stainless-steel tanks to the six holes left by the bottom of the large fermentation tanks exposed in the ceiling slab. We utilized these six circular holes to install the illuminated membrane, providing dim lighting for the space. Such presence of minimal lighting provision within the space has been enhanced/augmented with multiple reflections among the reflective stainless-steel material of the equipment and pipes.

To meet fire safety requirements, all the old aluminum extrusion windows on both the interior and exterior walls of the space had to be closed off. Instead of replacing them with solid walls, we used the removed metal windows to make molds, which allowed us to recreate 1:1 fiberglass-reinforced concrete "windows" as replacements. Traces of the old windows have therefore been preserved through the application of unconventional materials and artistic treatment.

For the new additions, the renovation design strategy focuses on meeting the programmatic requirements while bringing back the industrial architectural elements such as the factory lights, exposed ceiling with HVAC pipe and ducts, raw concrete, as well as the return and reappearance of material such as stainless steel, white tiles, warm red ceramic panels that has been used in the existing building, to rebuild the connection between "new" and "old".

The new auditorium taking up both B1 and the ground floor of D1 is a new addition on the original site. At the mezzanine level of the double-height space, there is a bridge cladded with stainless-steel panels that traverses through, echoing with the shiny silver air ducts and factory lights on the exposed ceiling, as well as the stainless-steel equipment and pipes in the D2 exhibition space that is faintly visible through the openings between the two spaces, creating a subtle, harmonious interplay. The flooring is paved with custom-made terrazzo inlaid with crushed terra-cotta aggregates, and in order to indicate the seating area, square-shaped terra-cotta panels are arranged in a pattern along the geometry of the stepped seating, echoing the material of the original building façade on the site. The design of the restrooms also references the typical practice of those in the factories in the 1980s and 1990s, featuring a full-width row of sinks, white tiles, stainless-steel, and surface-mounted fluorescent tube lighting.

Photography: ZC Studio, Studio 10

Website: https://cargocollective.com/ZCSTUDIO