Articles by 韩爽 - HAN Shuang

Selected as one of ArchDaily’s Best New Practices for 2024, Wiki World is pioneering a fresh approach to children’s architectural education and community building. This Wuhan-based studio simplifies the concept of architecture, moving beyond grandiose connotations and focusing on ‘building a house’—exploring the wisdom and methods of ‘ordinary people.’ Building, according to Wiki World, is not only a human instinct but also a way to connect with and understand nature. They see an opportunity in the open-source spirit, empowering communities in rural China to design and construct their own creations. By providing the right frameworks, Wiki World is able to scale and make architecture accessible to an increasing number of people. The studio organizes workshops across China, guiding parents and children through one community-building experience after another.

As humanity enters the AI-driven intelligent era, technology platform enterprises adopt more open and flexible modes of operation. Collaborative spaces such as creative incubators and informal exchange areas have become key places for practicing their operational philosophies. In the design of headquarters buildings, companies aim to engage with the public more deeply and convey their corporate culture and spirit, in addition to fulfilling daily office functions. Alibaba’s new headquarters in Shanghai is located in the “Global Waterfront Lifestyle Demonstration Zone,” at the heart of the West Bank Cultural Corridor. Positioned by the river and near the West Bank Media Port, Financial City, and other industrial hubs, the site integrates art with industrial heritage, bringing a unique historical and contemporary vibrancy to the area. The architecture around the park is “star-studded,” with forward-thinking designs from renowned architectural firms worldwide. The three buildings of Alibaba Xuhui Riverside Campus, designed by SANAA, Foster + Partners, and SOM, are introducing new concepts and visions to Xuhui Riverside.

Japanese eyewear legends Hakusan Megane has set the standard in quality and design since its original inception in 1883. The brand is known for their iconic silhouettes and creation of classic shapes unique to the brand. For their first store of mainland China, Each Design got a opportunity to cooperation with Hakusan Megane team and design the store for them in Zhang Yuan, Shanghai.

Spatial Strategy and Concept
MEET&EAT (M&E) is a community commercial team focused on creating multifunctional dining spaces. They previously developed the renowned More Than Eat project on Shanghai’s Julu Road and are now managing several spaces. For M&E, spaces not only provide complete dining services but also serve as a third space in the city, offering unique social experiences to the community. The spaces are designed to be free, open, and shared, accommodating various events and activities.

The Element pop-up store at HKRI Taikoo Hui offers an unconventional reflection on curatorial retail spaces. By thoughtfully curating the space, this project explores the sustainability of materials and, on another scale, integrates material properties and applications with the site. This approach bridges macro perception with micro perspective, allowing lifestyle to be conveyed through an unprecedented spatial experience.

Pinghe Bibliotheater is the core of OPEN’s latest project—School as Village/Shanghai Qingpu Pinghe International School. A library, a theater, and a black box interlock together like a Chinese puzzle to form this characteristic building that some call ‘the blue whale’ while others see it as an ocean liner. The unique form of the building and the free-flowing spaces not only cultivate the students’ interests in reading and performing, but also encourage their imagination to roam freely in the ocean of knowledge.

The Suzhou Bay Cultural Center is part of a series of emblematic projects initiated by the city’s Wujiang Lakefront Masterplan. Located on the shores of Lake Tai, the deserted plain was discovered by Christian de Portzamparc in 2013, while rethinking the future city. It was then built so quickly, that the architect never ceased to be amazed after every visit. Alive, it is like a real Manhattan of towers organized through a grid of streets and avenues, bordering a central pedestrian axis that heads towards the lake. It was clear that the meeting of this pedestrian axis and the great lake would generate an exceptional place, and it was on this site, on each side, that the cultural center was to be implanted in the architecture competition.

Located on Zhuhai’s coastal road, the new museum benefits from the proximity of the water as well as the mountains and a park in the background, whilst also being close to the opera house. Both buildings, the museum/exhibition complex and the opera house, represent a new statement for the entrance to Zhuhai city for travelers coming from the north.