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Architects: RoarcRenew
- Area: 4200 m²
- Year: 2017
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Photographs:Oscar Lok
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Lead Architects: Zhenqi Bai
Text description provided by the architects. RoarcRenew renovated the space of Carlowitz & Co. (third to fifth floor) in Middle Jiangxi Road into a unique co-working space. The original building, constructed with large natural stones and red ganged bricks in 1898, was the biggest architecture among all public concession buildings in Shanghai. The continuous refurbishment during recent years reconstructed the architecture from the original wooden structure to a steel structure. In this project, RoarcRenew kept the original structure, concrete walls and the architectural texture repaired.
RoarcRenew’s design held the concept to infuse a special historical and cultural breath into the new spirit of space field, echoing the picture of a neo-gothic Holy Trinity Church standing opposite to this eclectic architecture, Carlowitz & Co. RoarcRenew re-designed the attic on top floor (fifth floor) with the idea of arch and axisymmetry, dividing the space into three parts: main lobby in the middle and corridors aside. The desired depth of the shape and geometric aesthetics of the space formed a dialogue between the old and the new. The fishbone-like arches marched as an array, connecting the inside and outdoors, the past and the future. It is a solute to the Holy Trinity Church.
For the interior decoration, curved elements were largely applied to inherit the eclectic style, e.g. the proportion of three-zone construction and arc windows. The materials indicated three layers: the first is the application of marble and terrazzo; the second is the soft wood and brick walls, and the third of the extremely clean glasses, which fully presented the original building components and materials.
RoarcRenew started with respect to history, seeking the possibility to maintain the unique ritual and field spirit of each space from the view of its own, and so to liberate history in new context.
