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Type: Lobby Location: Shangdi Beijing Client: Huan Yang Grand Land Team: John van de Water, Bart Reuser, Marijn Schenk, Michel Schreinemachers with Melle Pama, Michel van Tilborg, Yuan Duo, Hu Qin Floor area / size: 800 sqm First design: 2007-10-08 Completion: August 2007

HAYA-mansion is a 1.700 sqm office building located near the North 4th Ring Road. The assignment was for the design of the 800m2 lobby; the client had envisioned a lobby where Chinese tradition and modern office-culture would blend. 

The design follows the Chinese conception of an ideal lobby: a lobby should be large and to suggest it being large, it should be empty. This conception is translated into an architectonic concept in which the lobby wall is used to integrate all interior objects and functions that are required, such as the directory of occupants, visitor seating, art, planting and lighting.  

To blend with Chinese tradition, the initial proposal is optimized in co-operation with a Fengshui expert. This led to specific shapes of the lobby-walls and to specific locations for red lights, paintings, fish bowls and ancient Chinese money. The wall colours are derived from an actual Beijing sunrise, aiming to provide an everlasting vital morning atmosphere.

Type: Interior, office space Location: Xicheng District, Beijing Client: Huan Yang Group, JDSF consultancy, NEXT architects Team: Bart Reuser, Marijn Schenk, Michel Schreinemachers, John van de Water with Joost Lemmens, Geoffrey Moote, Froukje van de Klundert, Chen Song, Wang Bo and Zang Rui Floor area / size: 1.250 sqm First design: 2005-04-23 Completion: 2005

The Beijing NEXT architects / Huan Yang-office measures a 100 x 25 meter typical open office floor. Four different companies and a number of departments share the same office floor. To connect and organize the individual companies, a concept was developed in which the traditional Chinese corridor - or lang - is used as a reference.  

Traditionally, a lang connects places while providing a constant changing perspective over the landscape it crosses. Whilst following the traditional principles, the contempory lang is charged with extra meaning. By transforming constantly in section, it incorporates the functions of lobby, meeting rooms, benches, exhibition and projection areas and storage shelves.