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The reconstruction project emerges from the ruins of “SHIZIKOU (Lion Mouth)” Prison — once one of the three major prisons in the republic of China — preserving the original ambiance of Suzhou Ancient City. What remains today from the structure, is an office building and a section of the prison wall, that over the years, gradually peels its paint, leaving the gray-brick wall exposed. Surrounded by many historical and traditional buildings, the project has an unavoidable historical and geographical background. The coordination and integration of the architectural style of the Republic of China preserved on the site and the surrounding Suzhou-style architecture are the constraints and challenges encountered in the design. Eventually, the architects did not adopt the form of ancient buildings, which seriously ran counter to modern life, but performed a modern interpretation of traditional buildings and existing buildings. Through the adjustment of the new building's roof form, the transition and integration from the architecture of the Republic of China to Suzhou-style were completed. The dilapidated prison office building on the site was no longer structurally safe for subsequent exhibitions, so the architects rebuilt it in situ. The gray bricks, doors and windows removed from the old office building have also been restored and reused. The architects and client added new functions — reception, working area, garden and gallery(transformed from the relic building)— to keep the site alive, without ruining the historic value of the original building. They sought to inherit the spirit of the place and redefine it, making memories last. Their aim was to transform and extend the former office building into a history and culture exhibition hall, serving as an attractive destination. The architects kept a century-old cypress near the old building as the focus point of the new construction. Around the tree, they form a continuous space that establishes an effective dialogue with the surrounding environment, making up a centripetal inner yard that opens a ‘window’ to the city. The exhibition hall extension serves to link the office building, cypress, and the external space. The new-old visual impact is weakened so that a new entirety emerges. The roof of the extension building begins to grow from the direction of the office building’s ridge line. Architects tried to make the typical image of the city abstract and convey hereditary form and space through different materials and forms. The new structure’s façade borrows the office building’s original façade form, and it is applied to the extension by a typological method.
Based in Shanghai, Lacime Architects adheres to the architectural design philosophy "Simplify complicated material, back to the origin.” SONG Zhaoqing, founder and chief architect, named the company La cime (meaning "peak" in French), aiming at creating first-class architecture while basing on the local environment. Lacime Architects has the class A qualification of architectural design firm and its main business includes architectural and landscape integrated design in the fields of residential community, commercial office, urban renewal, industrial park, culture and education.
After nearly 20 years' development, Lacime Architects has over 600 architects and has expanded to Beijing, Chongqing and Hong Kong, where it has set up branches.
