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This old warehouse on Jungong Road, Shanghai was originally used to store fabrics. Abandoned and dilapidated, it has now been given a new lease of life as an office and exhibition space. Located in a newly formed artists' complex, the area consists of three identical warehouse spaces totalling 1,200 sq m. The central warehouse has been converted into an outdoor recreational space and entrance lobby serving the exhibition hall and the studio.The external parametric wall of the warehouse encloses the building on three sides. Parametric processes have been used here to superimpose the contours and definition of silk undulating in the wind - a sign of its past. The wall consists of bricks, angled in particular ways to create the delicate texture of the wall. Inside the studio are two meeting rooms and exhibition areas for various models. The roof of this space has been left intact, simply renovated. Large windows run along both walls, flooding daylight into the large open space.
The centre-stair leads to a mezzanine level for sports and recreation. At the rear of the building is the open-plan office. The original details of the building have been preserved here, and the contemporary furniture has been introduced to contrast the old and the new. Archi Union is a multidisciplinary architecture and planning studio in Shanghai and is headed by Professor Philip F. Yuan.