The Swivel Space

Adding a glass box and metal panels SPARK Architects transformed the second floor of an office building from the 1980’s in their new studio in Beijing.

The Liang Dian Design Centre on Dongsishitiao is home to the new SPARK Beijing office; occupying 500 square meters on the second floor of a three story office building form the late 1980’s.

An annex glass box had been added to second floor of the existing building allowing for the exterior brick facade to be experienced as an interior space.

SPARK Architects, SPARK Beijing Office, Beijing

The space is loosely zoned into a main work area, kitchen and gathering space, a large meeting room area, a model making room and smaller meeting room. Demolishing the window up stands of the existing brick facade towards the glass box gave way to a much desired permeability of the space.

Alongside the main work space a continuous wall of metal cladded swivel doors allow for a playful and flexible configuration of “open and close”. When closed the metal panels catch subtle reflections of the surrounding office environment, while becoming a 20m long “wall of imagination” inviting project teams to pin up- and discuss their work.

The model making room, themed as “the ply room” is accessible via multiple routes through an extreme vertical space of what used to be a stairwell core.

The flux of the reception area, meeting room and kitchen can be discontinued via floor to ceiling swivel doors whenever activities require it.