BACA

Beijing, China

Universities

Architects: Superimpose Architecture

Location: Beijing, China
Year: 2018
Team: Carolyn Leung, Ben de Lange, Ruben Bergambagt, Arianna Bavuso, Valentin Račko

Superimpose designed the new home of the Beijing Academy of Creative Arts as a bright, flexible, fun, and student-centered space, which invites the students to collaborate and get inspired by other art disciplines. Here, the plan of a typical school has been re-invented by pushing the typical dark corridor to the facade, which enables the daylight to enter the studio rooms whilst avoiding the direct sunlight interference. Simultaneously the corridor provides an interesting 'Promenade of Arts'. The studio rooms can be isolated from the corridor at the times of selective classes by large curtains, which substantially help to reduce sound interference.
As Superimpose was only responsible for the concept design, smart cost-saving strategies had to be implemented early on in the design process in order to make the design unique and powerful and allow for a free interpretation of the concept to its end-result. The plan design has been dictated by how students interact and seek for inspiration. Furniture and light fixtures have been re-cycled and re-used from other schools, so as all the equipment such as sewing machines and mannequins. To guarantee the functionality of the current open floor plan, all the activities that cause sound impact to others - such as model-making, dyeing and printing workshops - have been isolated in full-height glass boxes at the back of each of the respective studio units.