Title: Arcade Project Public Cultural Space
Designed by: mou architecture studio
Architect: Zhuang Wu
Project team: Shiyu Fu , Jing Chen ,Yiwen Li
Location: Nanjing, China
Usage: Commercial retail, Cultural Space, bookstore, Bar, Study cube
Building area: 280㎡
Completion: 2022
Main Material: Pine multi-layer boards, cement, steel sheets, anodised aluminium, glass
Photographer: Ang Wu, Zhuang Wu, DONG Architects
The design is a low-interventionist intervention that preserves the concrete skeleton and texture of the original building, and organises the site through the inclusion of 'pavilions' of varying shapes, sizes and functions, which are either connected or discrete. These pavilions together carry the functions of a bar, reading, relaxation, activity and self-study. The pavilions on the first floor, where people can sit around, also play the role of a theatre or dance floor, where people enter in a special way, by raising their legs and crossing over, rather than walking in. We have set up a number of stackable square benches, which are normally used for book displays, and once an event has taken place, people can just take a bench and find a comfortable place to sit.
In order to provide a relatively comfortable and quiet environment for those who come to study and self-study, we have set up white pavilions of different scales scattered throughout the three levels of the venue, which are porous and transparent, so that people can walk into the interior of the pavilions and, as our bodies move between the interior and exterior, we become like wanderers, experiencing the space in a profound way, sometimes even getting lost because of the complex paths. . Walking and staying in the site, people can each create their own private space within it, discovering their own way of using it, like a park, with intentional scenes of people of all ages with the purpose of coming here.