the new cosmic space designed by architecture school of CAFA is located at the center of the architectural complex of the central academy of fine arts in beijing and has always been one of the largest single-story indoor spaces in the academy. before the renovation, it was a school history museum, but the original interior space was too old to be used for modern studies. on the occasion of the academy’s 100th anniversary in 2018 this structure was transformed into a multifunctional hall, which is now mainly used as an art exhibition hall for daily studies, meanwhile, it can be a place to hold different activities, such as large meetings and performances for teachers and students.

architecture school transforms old museum into a multifunctional futuristic space in beijing
inner hall

all images © jin weiqi

 

 

the transformation idea is ‘space sketch’ — on the basis of the existing building spatial relation, the designers used concise forms and simple materials to paint the indoor interface, so as to meet the requirement of making it become a ritual and flexible gathering place for teachers and students. the renovation included the front hall, inner hall, toilet, backstage, office, etc., and the black, white, and grey materials gradually changed the spatial sequence in the spaces which have different scales.

architecture school transforms old museum into a multifunctional futuristic space in beijing
inner hall（exhibition mode）

 

 

the front hall was treated as a gray box, and the wall, ceiling, and floor were covered with gray granites. through the glass doors, the indoor and outdoor materials are naturally connected. at the end of the front hall, the three revolving doors in the axis act like screens, which separate the front hall and the inner one and reduce the interference of external activities to the inner hall. the rotating doors in the middle are covered with black mirror steels, reflecting the changeable natural landscape on the outside.

architecture school transforms old museum into a multifunctional futuristic space in beijing
adjustable light poles

 

 

the studio redesigned the previous toilet area and adjusted its streamline relation to rationalize the function. mirror walls were added to the front hall to create a variety of visual changes while transiting from the outside to inside.

architecture school transforms old museum into a multifunctional futuristic space in beijing
mobile stage

 

 

at the entrance to the inner hall, the acoustic panels were integrated into a complete and pure white background. the original fixed stage was removed and replaced with an assembled mobile stage so that the entire hall could be used as a flexible display space. the designers used folding boards on some parts of the walls to make a coherent viewing space. the previous doors and windows were also hidden inside the walls.

architecture school transforms old museum into a multifunctional futuristic space in beijing
detail

 

 

the aluminum grilled ceiling in the inner hall comprises lighting, air conditioning, firefighting, and sound equipment, etc., under which some adjustable light poles with intelligent control were installed. the brightness and height of the artificial lighting can be adjusted according to the change of functions. when the hall is functioning as an exhibition place, the track lighting poles can be lowered to a height of 3 meters to ensure that the light can be freely controlled and manually adjusted according to the position of display partitions. when the hall is used for meeting and performance, the light poles can present dynamic changes and create specific atmospheres.

architecture school transforms old museum into a multifunctional futuristic space in beijing
inner hall（performance mode）

 

 

the backstage area is mainly used for display partitions and storing mobile furniture, and one part of it has been transformed into a VIP lounge design of which uses folding wall surfaces as well. all the facilities and equipment in this renovation were hidden within the complete materials to show a pure and concise spatial view.

 

architecture school transforms old museum into a multifunctional futuristic space in beijing
entrance

architecture school transforms old museum into a multifunctional futuristic space in beijing
front hall

architecture school transforms old museum into a multifunctional futuristic space in beijing
front hall

architecture school transforms old museum into a multifunctional futuristic space in beijing
front hall

 

project info:

 

 

design institutions: architecture school of cafa
designers: han wenqiang, zhao yang
location: central academy of fine arts, china
area: 1,400 m2
main materials: acoustic panel, granite, mirror steel
photographer: jin weiqi
completion: 2018.01

 

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: maria erman | designboom