In Pictures: Showroom Complex in China by Studio DOTCOF
A corporate showroom that is unlike spaces such as art galleries or museums that are directly open to the public, and is mainly used for receiving clients or partners related to the enterprise’s business. A showroom is often relatively big and isolated. At times when no reception is happening it often lays vacant, and its use efficiency is fairly low.
Employing the concept of the Showroom Complex, Studio DOTCOF has designed the head office showroom on Xiupu Rd in Shanghai for Yanfeng Automotive Interiors. It incorporates such spaces as an art gallery, a square, a theatre, a restaurant, and a cafe to give the visitor a more complex and diversified spatial experience.
The art gallery is where unique products are displayed. The design adopts an arch to emphasise the towering characteristic of the space and to bring out the beauty of the exhibits.
The square serves as the transitional space between the main exhibition hall and the rest of the space. It is mainly used to display mass-produced products and is also the place where multiple traffic flows converge. The designer created a totally open space to allow people to gather, and some of the exhibits can be shown on weekdays.
The theatre space is used for product releases, seminars, and events, etc. The large sliding doors on both sides of the big screen can be opened when an event is over, connecting the adjacent cafe and restaurant spaces. These two spaces are ideal for breaks and informal talks before and after official visits, and here visitors can stop to enjoy coffee and snacks.
Photo credit: Chen Hao
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An international jury today announced that an entry by eight Egyptian architects won the international competition for the reconstruction of the historic Al-Nouri Mosque complex in Mosul, Iraq, a major component of UNESCO’s ambitious project for the rehabilitation of the ancient city, Revive the Spirit of Mosul.
“The reconstruction of Al-Nouri Mosque complex, a historical site that is part of Mosul’s fabric and history, will be a landmark in the process of advancing the war-torn city’s reconciliation and social cohesion. Heritage sites and historical monuments are powerful catalysts for people’s sense of belonging, of community, and identity. They are key to reviving the spirit of Mosul and of Iraq as a whole,” says Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General.
The winners, seasoned architects with a notable track record in heritage rehabilitation, urban planning and climate-based architecture, will now produce a more detailed design for the reconstruction of Al-Nouri complex, with a view to starting its building in late autumn 2021.
The international design competition for the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Al-Nouri complex in Mosul was launched in November 2020 by UNESCO. The competition was prepared in close coordination with the Iraqi Ministry of Culture and the Iraqi Sunni Endowment, with the support of the United Arab Emirates, all of them members of the Joint Steering Committee of the project. This reconstruction of the Al-Nouri Complex is part of UNESCO’s flagship initiative Revive the Spirit of Mosul, which was launched in 2018 and concerns the rehabilitation of the historical fabric of the Old city of Mosul, the revival of the city’s cultural life, and the strengthening of its educational system to ensure quality education for all.
Despite the recent challenges forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, Kuwait is still managing to move forward with its national development projects with strategically revised timeframes. One of the most recent of these key developments is the new Hawally Court Complex, a new judicial landmark that was recently completed for The Ministry of Justice (MOJ). The Complex is considered the latest edition of the smart courts being built in the State of Kuwait.
SSH is proud to be working with Ajial Real Estate and Entertainment Company on the design and construction supervision of Al Andalus Mixed-use Complex, located in Kuwait’s Hawally District.
UNESCO, the Iraqi Ministry of Culture and the Iraqi Sunni Endowment, have committed to reconstruct and rehabilitate the Al Nouri Complex in Mosul with the generous financial support of the United Arab Emirates.
The Indian Himalayas, a steep mountain landscape through which the sacred Ganges River meanders, is a nature that supersedes all human construction. For the development of the hotel complex Taj Rishikesh, it was this modesty in face of the grandiosity of the place that guided our approach.
The resort, located 250km North-East of New Delhi, incorporates the main hotel block and a series of villas on a vast and steep site overlooking the Ganges River. The site layout is inspired by traditional Himalayan villages, anchored around a Darbargadh, the traditional residence of local rajas or lords. The Darbargadhs are used as a combination fortress-palace-temple, and offer at their heart a walled courtyard that ensures the protection of the villagers in times of war, and serves as a gathering place for community life in harmonious times.
The villas, as in a traditional Himalayan village, are laid out as a series of pavilions built on a succession of stepped terraces kept in place by massive stone retaining walls. This stratification of the site in successive levels offers each villa a private view of the mountain panorama and the majority with framed views of the Ganges River.
The architecture of the project takes advantage of the materials found locally: river stones for the retaining walls, slate for the roofs and flooring, and large wooden frames for the joinery. Traditional Himalayan construction techniques intermix stone walls with vast cantilevered cedar beams. This traditional building style called Kath-Kuni has been reinterpreted here with modern materials, with steel replacing the cedar beams that are now banned from exploitation in the Himalayas.
The project has been developed on a very site-specific approach. It has elaborated solutions, that primarily refer to the historical context of the neighbourhood of Fagerborg.
The lower floors have several smaller units while the higher ones contain larger apartments. There are varied offers with apartments of different sizes and identities that ensure a complex and diverse community.
Elena Galli Giallini Ltd. (EGGL), a Hong Kong-based design and architecture firm unveils the rejuvenated North building of the Grand Gateway 66 retail complex (GG66), located in Shanghai’s bustling commercial, cultural, and historic zone of Xijiahui. Comprised of two distinct buildings of contrasting configurations, EGGL was commissioned to provide the prominent complex with a brand-new image, both architecturally and functionally.
With EGGL as design architect and interior designer, the renovation project encompasses the entire retail complex, including the transformation of the 20-year old North Building, completed in 2019, and an overhaul of the South building, expected to be finalised later this year.
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