lacime architects brings new vitality to heritage factory buildings in china

lacime architects brings new vitality to the old wuhan hanyang iron works area in china, by adopting different levels of preservation and transformation. ‘wuhan·SUNAC·1890’ is a project that has been included in the national industrial heritage list. the protection and reuse of industrial sites in the factory area present the national industry development and modern industrial culture elements of the city. in this area, there are two workshop buildings; an oxygen production workshop classified as a grade ΙΙ listed building, and an oxygen charging station as a grade ΙΙΙ.all images courtesy of inter_mountain images

the different functions of the two buildings led to further treatment of the volumes, materiality, preservation, and protection. due to the ambiguous character of the facade and the low protection level, lacime architects has entirely remodeled it, while the studio has preserved selectively the internal structure. furthermore, the chimneys in the site have also been completely preserved.

the facade is clad mainly in red bricks with square windows, and the ring beams and columns are leveled with cement mortar. the design scheme has adopted the measure of finishing and preserving, and damaged parts of the red brick exterior walls have been repaired. a new floating corridor has been built between the two workshop buildings, while preserved trees are enclosed in an internal courtyard.

a new architectural space form was generated by adopting different levels of preservation and transformation to the two workshop buildings. the brand new building form is located on one side of qintai avenue, with an open front yard providing a good display area. after entering the inner courtyard, one can see the well-preserved grade II protected building, and the side rooms with different heights have been technically restored to form a complete space.

standing in the middle of the courtyard, visitors face the structure reflecting the characteristics of the new era on one side, and the ‘old workshop buildings’ on the other, as well as trees over 50 years old. architects bring new vitality to the old buildings by using a more accessible contemporary architectural vocabulary. while people appreciate the change of history, the new building also pays homage to the old buildings in its way. 

project info:

name: wuhan·SUNAC·1890

architects: lacime architects

leader architect: song zhaoqing

design team: wei wenyuan, li sheng, shan you, zhang tao

owner team: luo liyong, ge huaijing, huang ting, zhang xiaoliang, chen siyu, huang xiaohe, lin huimin, yu xian

architects project owner: wuhan rongjing zhenyuan real estate development co., ltd.

design unit of construction drawing: china light industry wuhan design & engineering co., ltd.

consultant and design unit of curtain wall: shanghai anxun exterior wall engineering design co., ltd.

landscape deisign: shenzhen yi’an design consulting co., ltd.

interior decoration design: mohen-design

light design: BPI

construction unit of landscape: zhejiang hengchun municipal landscape engineering co., ltd.

construction unit: china construction seventh engineering division corp. ltd.

construction unit of curtain wall: china state construction curtain wall co., ltd.

information of material and equipment suppliers: titanium-zinc sheet metal

roofing: wagandang architectural decoration engineering technology co., ltd.

earthenware brick curtain wall: futaoke ceramics co., ltd.

location: wuhan city, china

built area: 4112.97 sqm (44,271.64)

completion year: 2020

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: christina petridou | designboom