atelier alter designs yingliang stone archive in beijing

atelier alter designs yingliang stone archive in beijing
all images courtesy of atelier alter

stone, tactile and dignified, is given due attention in atelier alter’s ‘yingliang stone archive’ in beijing. conceived as a rehabilitation project, the space — formerly a storage facility — showcases the diverse stages and levels of stone craft, providing business clients a dedicated location to browse and contemplate the company’s extensive capabilities.

façade embedded tree

drawing directly from the stages of stone processing, the volume is constructed as an active quarry where angular cuts define solid (exhibition, meeting, archive) and void (circulation) spaces. in fact, all materials used in the project are directly recycled from various points in the complex, multi-part procedure.

door detail

‘yingliang stone archive’ is divided three times from exterior to interior. a reinforcement of the concept, each layer serves to further the narrative quality of the design. the first, outermost, separates the building from street using a perforated wall composed of thousands of 10cm dimension cubes left over from quarry cutting. the wall is punctured three times, allowing entrance to archive and restaurant (different doors) and a clerestory window intersected by a tree.

interstitial space 

the tree’s roots are grounded within a transitional buffer that also serves as restaurant terrace and garden. moving beyond this area marks the beginning of the second division. here, an outwards-tilted shelf composed of ‘mountain skins’ prepare visitors for a formal entrance into the ‘archive’.

a final, third division, is defined by a zigzagging stone screen that separates exhibition areas, meeting hall, and archive within a double-height space. this section is, like all, made of stone. small flag slabs nestled between horizontal steel rows connect ground and upper levels.

archive entrance wall

also present within the ‘stone archive’ is a small restaurant, café, bar. in addition to a library, the space opens outwards into the transitional garden between the street and building entrance. furniture and lighting are made using polished slab and super-thin stone veneers; an effort representative of the finest degree of processing. a ‘carpet’ (also stone) of parametrically arranged slabs combines the three distinct food programs into a cohesive whole. 

stone slabs 

video courtesy of xiaojun bu

entrance

main hall 

stone library 

video courtesy of xiaojun bu

restaurant 

view to terrace 

café

project info:

client: beijing tian cheng ying liang stone co., ltd.
location: beijing city, chaoyang district, beiyuan north qu winery international art district F1-1001
architects: atelier alter
project leaders: xiaojun bu, yingfan zhang
team: kai qin, zhenwei li, dehu du, tongwei liu
civil/structure/MEP engineer: jie jin, zhe li, wei li, ming cheng
landscape architect：xiaojun bu, dehu du
general contractor: an hui wan cong construction services co., ltd., beijing jingcheng yongshun science and technology development co., ltd.
materials: steel, stone
area: 472 sqm
year: 2016
photography: courtesy of atelier alter

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: nick brink | designboom