post-war family dormitory is transformed into a tiny white-toned cozy apartment in beijing

ROOI design and research firm transformed a space that was initially designed to be a family dormitory for a research institution, into a 50 square meter apartment in beijing, china. the architectural style of the post-war building is a typical brick-concrete structure that was built in the 1950s and witnessed history.

all images by weiqi jin

the project’s core by ROOI design and research firm was to find a way to adjust the old shared residence into modern city life and retain its previous structure while recovering the degraded green areas. the architects created a pattern with a bedroom, a living room, a dining room, and a toilet—which were nonexistent in the initial layout— to make the apartment more private, functional, and livable. so they decided to experiment with creative ideas and chose to renovate one household within the building since the cost of tearing down old buildings is excessive.

the architects believed that diversification and personalization are the future for small apartments in the city otherwise, everything will exist in a neutral and lifeless form. the first design approach was to get rid of all unnecessary elements. they demolished the old wall in the middle, broke the old grid pattern, and designed an apartment that can achieve different functions in a relatively open space. they designed an area intended for receiving guests, working from home, reading, or even practicing an indoor sport activity, which can be truly useful during these pandemic times.

the north-oriented wooden room is both a reception tea room and a temporary guest room. it contrasts with the dominant white tone and adds warmth to the house. above the wooden enclosure, there is a large storage facility for outdoor sports equipment and other bulky stuff. this project is a small corner of the vast chinese interior renovation industry. in fact, most apartments and residential interiors in china have more freedom than western countries; with this in mind, the ROOI design and research firm proved that chinese homes can be as diverse as possible.

project info:

name: post-war apartment t101 by ROOI design and research

designer: ROOI design and research firm

location: china building material academy, chaoyang district, beijing, china 

area: 50 sqm (538.196 sqft)

chief designer: zuoqian wang, dan he project manager: jiaji shen

photography: weiqi jin

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: yasmina karam | designboom