Renovation Of Yulin Building

Renovation Of Yulin Building
pavilion. Image © Arch-Exist

RENOVATION OF YULIN BUILDING

Epos Architecture

ARCHITECTS
Epos Architecture

DESIGN TEAM
Yikuan Gao, Dali Huang, Roufeng Li

PROJECT PRINCIPALS
Kefei Cai, Xi Wang

PHOTOGRAPHS
Arch-Exist

AREA
5100 m²

YEAR
2020

LOCATION
Chengdu, China

CATEGORY
Public Architecture, Renovation

Renovation Of Yulin Building
atrium aerial view. Image © Arch-Exist
Renovation Of Yulin Building
pavilion. Image © Arch-Exist

It was a morning time in the past spring that I first stepped into Yushuang Building, walking through a dark, narrow elevator, entering the four-storeyed space, with sunlight pouring down from the sun roof, which makes you feel being in the Wonderland.

Renovation Of Yulin Building
atrium. Image © Arch-Exist
Renovation Of Yulin Building
atrium. Image © Arch-Exist

This has been the starting point of our design, aimed at creating an atmosphere of the full spring bringing everything back to life.

The property was an old building which had undergone several additional constructions, with the 3 floors in the lower part being shops and hotpot restaurants, the 4th-7th floors being office spaces surrounding an atrium setting with a transparent rooftop.

Renovation Of Yulin Building
atrium. Image © Arch-Exist
Renovation Of Yulin Building
inner facade. Image © Arch-Exist

There are numerous corridors and stepping stairs weaving into floors or half floors, like a labyrinth, owing to the fact of multiple additional constructions inside the building. However, you can never be lost if you find the way back to the atrium.

Therefore, the atrium becomes the focus of our design. Pursuing the original impression, we use green as the theme color for the atrium, with different tones of green resulting in a complex color change in each layer under the halo of sunlight.

Renovation Of Yulin Building
handrail. Image © Arch-Exist
Renovation Of Yulin Building
corridor. Image © Arch-Exist

The subtle variation in the tone of sunlight reminds you of the connection to the real world and the continuation of time.

The atrium on the 4th floor is like the “plaza” in a western concept, acting as central point of the surrounding office spaces.

Renovation Of Yulin Building
corridor. Image © Arch-Exist
Renovation Of Yulin Building
corridor. Image © Arch-Exist

We use winding corridors, small pavilions and low countertops to separate the large space into a bunch of small spaces with clear vision and partition, enabling the atrium with reasonable layers and accurate definition of the space, offering it a touch of Chinese style in some way.

It looks like the original lighting roof introduces too much sunlight, giving the impression of over-exposure, so that we’re thinking to use a suspension deck to block part of the sunlight from the glass roof.

Renovation Of Yulin Building
pathway. Image © Arch-Exist
Renovation Of Yulin Building
atrium. Image © Arch-Exist

Because of the weakness of the roof, we had to use an over-hanging beam with a reinforced concrete structure extended from the winding corridors.

By doing so, we unexpectedly entitled it with an image of traditional “Over-hanging eave”, posing as an antithesis to the pavilions in the atrium, consistently forming the Wonderland in the old town of Chengdu.

Renovation Of Yulin Building
entrance. Image © Arch-Exist


Renovation Of Yulin Building
pavilion. Image © Arch-Exist
Renovation Of Yulin Building
skylight. Image © Arch-Exist
Renovation Of Yulin Building
balcony. Image © Arch-Exist


Renovation Of Yulin Building
office space and circulation
Renovation Of Yulin Building
4F plan

Renovation Of Yulin Building
combination of different spaces
Renovation Of Yulin Building
circulation analysis
Renovation Of Yulin Building
space relations