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Genarchitects is an outstanding example of the mindset of many groups of young independent architects who have always eschewed the prevailing penchant of contemporary Chinese architecture for the visually spectacular. Often bland and unremarkable at first glance, on closer inspection, their projects reveal a subtle consideration of typology, structure, materials, and atmosphere.
Completed in 2018, the renovation of the Jiaotong warehouse in Shanghai by the firm transformed the building’s image simply by giving it a lightweight façade, and modifying the size and scale of the structural and reinforcement elements. This early work clearly shows the intervention strategies the group had defined, and which it has since consistently adopted to meet the market and environmental challenges posed by their different projects.
In 2019, they completed the Yitingting Cottage in Tonglu, a tiny construction surrounded by an equally small cottage garden enclosed in a courtyard. A reception and dining facility, the building has a fairly extensive open ground floor and a very enclosed, secluded upper floor. The limited surface area posed the challenge of creating a diverse experience in a single-span space. The solution was to highlight the structure, materials, furniture, lamps, and surrounding garden, giving each an individual importance and allowing them to “transcend” their state of ordinary architectural components and become more like art installations. The vegetation is allowed to enter the little house, whose low furniture and fittings ensure full views onto the courtyard. The calm, subdued atmosphere of the upper floor is reinforced by the reflection on the dining table of the bamboo trees outside. The Yitingting Cottage demonstrates how genarchitects use materials and scale to create environments exuding a sense of delicacy and calm.
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