Idea Factory Shenzhen, New Nantou building, MVRDV architecture photos, Chinese creative factory

Idea Factory Nantou, Shenzhen, by MVRDV

25 November 2021

MVRDV transforms disused industrial building into a “creative factory” with a green public roof in Shenzhen

Location: Shenzhen, China

Design: MVRDV

Photos © Xia Zhi 夏至

Idea Factory Nantou, Shenzhen, design by MVRDV

Rotterdam, November 25th 2021 – MVRDV has completed construction of the Idea Factory, a transformation of a former factory building in the Shenzhen urban village of Nantou that sustainably reusing and improving the building instead of demolishing and rebuilding it.

The project contains a mixture of offices for the Urban Research Institute of China Vanke and offices for rent – yet despite this programme, its distinguishing features are public in nature: a stairway cuts its way through the six-storey building, leading to a rooftop with a series of “rooms” enclosed by living bamboo “walls”, offering a variety of amenities and activities.

Rather than demolish and rebuild, the Idea Factory design sustainably renovates a disused factory building:

Nantou has roots as an ancient historic town but is now an urban village of Shenzhen, dwarfed by the skyscrapers that surround it. The Idea Factory is the largest project in a number of renovations proposed by Vanke, all with designs by nationally and internationally renowned architects, which aims to accelerate Nantou’s transformation into a cultural and creative hub.

The building’s original concrete frame is exposed, with the new façade set back from the edge of the structure to create open loggias:

Rather than demolish and rebuild, the design sustainably renovates a disused factory building, maintaining a piece of Nantou’s history while also having lower embodied carbon emissions than a new building. The building’s original structure has been strengthened so that an extra floor could be added on top to maximise floor area. Meanwhile, the original façades have been removed, with the building’s concrete frame exposed and preserved to show traces of the building’s history. The new façade is set back from the edge of the structure, creating open loggias that wrap around the whole building. These allow for circulation and enable the chance encounters with colleagues that make for a dynamic creative environment.

The inside of the public staircase is clad in mirrors and festooned with bright neon signs, creating an aesthetic reminder of the early days of Shenzhen’s urbanisation:

Facing a small public square on the ground floor, a protruding tube-like structure clad in wood marks the entrance to the public staircase that carves its way through the building. Inside, the staircase is clad in mirrors and festooned with bright neon signs, creating an aesthetic reminder of the early days of Shenzhen’s urbanisation. On the fourth floor, this staircase protrudes out the other side of the building – a chance to take in a view of the surrounding rooftops – before turning and continuing up to the roof.

The bamboo roof creates a cool, shaded space that supports biodiversity while providing social and leisure spaces in a historically disadvantaged neighbourhood:

Upon exiting the staircase, visitors are greeted with a green bamboo landscape packed with amenities and activities. This is arranged to form a bamboo “maze” that divides the rooftop into different rooms, each containing a different activity: a glass box for performances and events, a variety of seating areas, a gym, a trampoline, swings, a tea house, a dining room, a dance floor, and a chess set. This roof makes the project more sustainable both ecologically and socially: the bamboo creates a cool, shaded space and supports biodiversity within a dense urban environment, while the activity rooms provide social and leisure spaces in a neighbourhood that has historically been disadvantaged.

The project “shows that the ‘hyper-new’ city of Shenzhen is entering its phase of reusing and renewing old buildings and turning them into the ‘new-old’”, says Dutch architect Winy Maas:

“The Idea Factory shows us the wealth of possibilities offered by buildings that some may think are ‘dilapidated’ or beyond their useful lifespan”, says MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. “Not only were we able to make use of this existing structure, we intensified its use – adding an extra floor – and wove it into the public realm of Nantou with its green and public rooftop. It shows that the ‘hyper-new’ city of Shenzhen is entering its phase of reusing and renewing old buildings and turning them into the ‘new-old’.”

MVRDV designed the Idea Factory for the Shenzhen Nanshan District Bureau of Public Works and Shenzhen Vanke Development. The design was completed in collaboration with the Urban Research Institute of Vanke, vaLue Design, and the Shenzhen Bowan Architecture Design Institute.

Idea Factory Shenzhen by MVRDV – Masterplan Information

Project Name: Idea Factory
Location: Shenzhen, China
Year: 2021
Client: Bureau of Public Works of Shenzhen Municipality Nanshan District; Shenzhen Vanke
Development Ltd.
Size and Programme: 11,000m2 Office

Film on YouTube

Credits

Architect: MVRDV
Founding Partner in charge: Winy Maas
Partner: Wenchian Shi
Design Team: Lorenzo Mattozzi, Guang Ruey Tan, Peter Chang, Cai Zheli, Echo Zhai, Pim Bangert,
Elien Deceuninck, Daehee Suk, Monika Wiecha, Alberto Menozzi, Alexis Lode, Anamarija Vrzina,
Enrica Perrot, Luca Beltrame, Michele Tavola, Hengwei Ji
Visualisations: Antonio Coco, Pavlos Ventouris, Luc Piattelli, Magda Bykowska, Jaroslaw Jeda
Director MVRDV Asia: Steven Smit
Strategy and Development: Jammy Zhu
Copyright: MVRDV Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries

Partners:
Project planning and design management: Urban Research Institute of China Vanke; vaLue Design
Co-architect: Shenzhen Bowan Architecture Design Institute
Landscape architect: Yuanye Landscape Design
Lighting designer: GD-Lighting Design
Façade Consultant: PAG
Local Interior architect: Biaogao Design

Photographs/Video: © Xia Zhi 夏至

MVRDV

Factory building designs

Idea Factory Nantou Shenzhen building images / information received 251121 from MVRDV Architects, NL

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