Project description of Surpass Court / logon:
In the dense downtown areas of Shanghai where a patch of open space is virtually an unattainable luxury, it is also where the fastest sprouting urban lifestyle is taking place. More and more people in Shanghai are beginning to explore their urban environment; they interact with the city and seek for places of distinct identities. This trend shows signs in the growing number of city residents who fan out every weekend with cameras, taking pictures of/with the historic or peculiar buildings, streets, a cracking old wall, an abandoned factory. In other words, people are looking for places they can relate to. The recently completed Surpass Court on 570 Yongjia Road is a good example of how through design, reutilization of a former industrial area can become a public space with characters and a face.
The former industrial area on Yongjia Lu covers an area of 3800 sqm and offers 7500 sqm of floor area. There are five buildings on the site but only one of the buildings faces the street. The other four buildings are set back from the street, where they frame a courtyard spared of the roaring traffic. The secluded quality of the courtyard speaks the true potential of the site. The main tasks for the design team now lie in how to create an identity for the courtyard, and in addition to that, how to work with the existing architecture, not against it.
Rectangular shaped, the west building extends into the courtyard. The structure is one level higher than the rest, which makes it a prominent focal point in the center of the site. The new design plays with the openings of the building, creating an irregular pattern on the façade, while it equally stresses on the functionality of the interior. The unique façade made recognizable by its curious design hereby defines the courtyard plaza, injecting it with an atmosphere utterly different from that of across the buildings. The other three facades facing the courtyard therefore can be optimized of their office function.
The one building facing the street was given the most attention throughout the design process. As the figurehead of the project, it needs to be eye-catching and inviting at the same time. Based upon primarily the original structure, the design of roadside building features a receding façade that bends fourfold inward, assimilating a wavy composition. The section of the building that’s the closest to the entrance is also renewed with a glass façade, connecting its interior space with the surrounding, and directing glances into the compound. With lighting arrangement in the night time, the structure leaves impression on those who happen to pass by.
Within only a few months, the area is already home to offices, shops, a bar, restaurants and an art gallery.