The annual AAP American Architecture Prize, which recognizes outstanding architectural design, interior design, and landscape architecture worldwide, has given URBANLOGIC's Sichuan Arts Factory and Innovation Center a Silver Award in the mixed-use category. The panel of judges included Troy C. Therrien of the Guggenheim Foundation and Museum, Peggy Deamer of Yale University, Ben Van Berkel of UNStudio and Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and Alan Ricks and Michael Murphy, founders of Mass Design Group.
URBANLOGIC was commissioned by a glass manufacturer to design an upgrade for his factory into a large-scale art production and innovation center. The brief included production facilities, a sales hall, a small museum, individual artist studios, and a boutique hotel for VIP clients. Inspired by the character and malleability of industrial buildings, the architects based their design on a warehouse typology, using exposed concrete frames and concrete bricks to create a neutral canvas for the artistic production and exhibition within.
A continuous, undulating roofscape stretches across the length of the building, creating both pitched and butterfly roofs that peak at varying heights. The architects included elements of traditional Chinese architecture in both the upward curves of the roof's eaves and the four introverted courtyards. Lined by vertical bamboo elements, these courtyards contrast with the industrial warehouses for balance and cohesion. The largest, central courtyard, designed for open-air shows and screenings, shields the hotel from noise and dust emanating from the factory. A second courtyard will house a sculpture garden and balance the central plaza.
URBANLOGIC is an architecture and urban design firm based in Hong Kong and Berlin. Claiming projects in over 20 countries, the firm combines its practical work with a theoretical and research background, focusing on the socioeconomic and cultural context of their projects.
News via: The American Architecture Prize
