Atelier About Architecture 左通右达建筑工作室

Apartment 55

Apartment 55
Haiting Sun

APARTMENT 55

Atelier About Architecture

INTERIORS DESIGNERS
Atelier About Architecture

MANUFACTURERS
Cassina, Soluzioni Microverlay

PHOTOGRAPHS
Haiting Sun

AREA
300.0 m2

YEAR
2019

LOCATION
Beijing, China

CATEGORY
Residential

This is an architectural renovation project designed for working requirements and the living conditions of an artist. We named the project Apartment 55 (A55) because the number 55 has a special meaning to the owner.

Apartment 55
© Haiting Sun
Apartment 55
Haiting Sun

The apartment is located on the top floor of a five-story building. The owner wants to keep the existing courtyard and ensure the functions of work, reception, exhibition, and daily life at the same time.

His studios require an absolute sense of privacy, thus it takes a great amount of consideration about the position of the painting, the angle of the light and the vision of the artist himself. The biggest challenge of this project is how to renovate and make rooms for all functions within the limits of the carrying capacity of the original structure.

Apartment 55
Haiting Sun
Apartment 55
Haiting Sun

After reorganizing the spatial arrangement, we redefined the building and courtyard and rearranged the horizontal and vertical circulation. The added load is controlled within 9 tons after the latest calculation of the whole structure.

The brand-new steel structure is “tied” to the original concrete frame so that it can not only avoid negative impact on the original structure but also play a certain role of the enclosure.

Apartment 55
Haiting Sun
Apartment 55
Haiting Sun

As for the circulation and spatial planning, it starts at the main entrance and goes inward to the public areas (reception room, exhibition room), and transitioning towards the semi-public areas and private areas (living room, studio).

In order to provide visibility and accessibility for the visitors, they can experience the transformation of spatial properties through the opening and closing of the sliding doors, the position and transparency of the window, and combining the transitional spaces between the stairs and corridors.

Apartment 55
Haiting Sun
Apartment 55
Haiting Sun

We designed three studios for the artist in the working area, and it constructs different creative spaces with the various atmosphere by controlling the height through the new steel structure, the position of the window and the size of the room, the effect on the light environment through the reflection between the natural light and wall.

In order to increase the sense of privacy of the space, the new curtain wall starts at 5.6meters at the elevation of an inner courtyard, which means that there are no windows at the eye level of the reception area on the first floor, making the whole courtyard a homogeneous open-air exhibition space.

A staircase leading to the large studio on the second floor is hidden behind the facade as a transitional space.

Apartment 55
Haiting Sun
Apartment 55
Haiting Sun
Apartment 55
Haiting Sun

The glass facade combines the courtyard and daylight into a glass box full of natural light, therefore filter the direct sunlight that comes into the large studio, and making the light softer in the meantime.

Skylight renders the emotional changes and ritual sense of transition from the public/semi-public space on the first floor to studio/private space.

The mixture of color, material, and light, constitutes the second transformation of atmosphere and emotion.

Apartment 55
Haiting Sun
Apartment 55
Haiting Sun
Apartment 55
Haiting Sun

A large area of nano-concrete is used on the floor and wall of the reception area on the first floor; granular sensation of hand polished surface with texture and gloss of the wood, which is darkening the whole hue of a reception area and in contrast to the courtyard with glaucous real stone paint. It emphasizes the spiritual experience brought by the natural light projected from outside.

The hue of the space starts to fade once turning from the corridor on the first floor to a stairway leading up to the second. 

The wall and wooden floor are both light gray, it strengthens emotions with daylight together right before entering the private working zone.

Apartment 55
Haiting Sun
Apartment 55
Haiting Sun

Light gray nano-concrete floor and white wall are used for the whole second floor. Daylight comes though the curtain wall and brings serenity and purity to the working area. The large studio and courtyard can be overlooked on the third-floor terrace, with lighting diffusing from the glass facade at night exaggerating the architecture as an urban landscape.

A55 takes up to three years from design to completion.  Limited to the extremely harsh constraints of the project, we try to maximize the change and rhythm of the building in accordance with the function, along with perception and form, lightness and heaviness, light and color. Hopefully, these integrated experiences will slowly be coming together with the art created by the owner.

Apartment 55
Haiting Sun


Apartment 55
Haiting Sun
Apartment 55
Haiting Sun


Apartment 55
Section
Apartment 55
Building elevation


Apartment 55
1F plan
Apartment 55
2F plan
Apartment 55
3F plan
Apartment 55
Functional diagram
Apartment 55
Circulation and structure diagram


Apartment 55
Functional diagram

Atelier About Architecture 左通右达建筑工作室
Atelier About Architecture 左通右达建筑工作室
6 E 4th Ring N Rd, Sanyuan Bridge, Chaoyang, Beijing, China, 100016 北京市朝阳区东四环北路6号阳光上东26号楼7单元102