Lacime Architects - Beijing Jade Academy Sky Library
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Beijing Jade Academy Sky Library

Lacime Architects

Public Space  /  Completed
Lacime Architects
As the "world" itself has become increasingly rich and complex, people's ideas have also been extended to an infinitely broad field. Buildings are no longer rigidly wedded to certain fixed and commonly known styles and routines, but they are showing more pure possibilities.The design of the Sky Library is such an attempt. From the beginning of the design, it has not been deliberately envisaged that “ how the appearance of a building should be like” and more is considered as “how the building itself should be”,a more simple and direct product under the proposition.

Shape and space
Looking from the south of the base, the silver-gray building is quietly placed on the grassy slope. The just body and the material of diffuse aluminum plate form dramatic experience, which makes the building appear to be well-defined and similar to blend the background sky.
If the “freedom” of the architectural style and form of the building itself only interpret one aspect of freedom, then the architect undoubtedly tries to express more in the design. The combination of the square and calm mass of the building’s main body and the ramp on the west side that is full of sense of strength and motion, the contrast and fusion between the geometrically segment steps and the waterscape in the courtyard and the natural slope of the entire slope on the south side, the cold and hard texture of the main material of the glass and the aluminum plate serving as a foil to the Parklex woodgrain plates embellished with various warmth and closeness to the softness of nature, are all indicative of its own contradiction and complexity.

Yard and sequence
Except the “freedom” of building of its own, the architects hope that the relationship between the architecture and the urban environment is also "free". Therefore, a completely open and passable bottom shelf space has been made at the main entrance on the west side and a “yard” with blurred boundaries has been created inside the site. The architects think that the definition of “yard” should not be limited to fixed format. Thus, a half-empty ramp making the internal and external courtyards into vague division has been attempted, which continues echoing the design concept of the “freedom” from the ambiguous relation of space.
From the front of the building, the light and shining metal luster slopes appear to be suspended and parallel to the shadow of the pool. Such a relationship implies a high degree of parallelism between the two in terms of streamlines. It does not deliberately reinforce one of them, but rather highlights the "possibility" of coexistence. The two paths are merged together through streamlines within the building to form a complete loop.

Light and Shadow
The irregularly arranged aluminum plates on the west facade of the building are not only the elements of the facade, but also the sun visors that block the sun.
With the change of light in the day, light acts as an independent material to participate in the building. The aluminum plates exhibit different shades as the intensity of sunlight changes. The glass shades also have the color of the sky and the internal lighting. The calm water then incorporates the building and the sky, and the repeated light reflections make the edges of the building repetitive. The blurring of boundaries has also given the building a richer and more varied appearance. At sunset, looking west from the garden of the second floor platform, the warm breeze passes through the two glass curtain walls, which is like “enframed scenery”, draw the outline of the park landscape in the west side and a distant western mountain.

Credits

 Beijing
 China
 Beijing Vanke
 12/2017
 2800 mq
 ZhaoFang Song
 Qiang Zhang, Xiaofei Wang, Shuting Liu
 Lacime Architects
 Peter Dixie

Curriculum

Lacime Architects upheld the architectural philosophy "Simplify complicated material" since it was established in Shanghai. The name "Lacime" was given by founder Song Zhaoqing. It comes from French which means"peak"and express the aim to design first-class architecture work.
After 13 years'development, we have over 500 architects and rich experience in the large projects in china and overseas. We actively participate in the residential, commercial, cultural, tourism and various type of work, aiming to cultivate local talents, integrate elite design team and provide best solutions to the clients.

http://www.lacime-sh.com/


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