Chinese studio People’s Architecture Office utilised metal air conditioning pipes to create giant Chinese characters on the facade of the Tubular Baitasi visitor centre during Beijing Design Week 2015.
The visitor centre was established to host occasions and exhibitions that showcase “regeneration approaches” for Beijing’s Baitasi – a cultural and historical preservation zone and hutong region inside of the Chinese capital.
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People’s Architecture Office utilized sections of metal piping usually set up for heating, air conditioning or ventilation functions to spell out the Chinese letters 白塔寺, that means White Pagoda Temple, on the exterior of the constructing.
This is a reference to a nearby 700-year-previous construction, which passersby can see if they peer within sections of the piping that were purposefully left open by the architects.
These periscope-like sections also supply views of the People’s Commune Building – a 1950s experimental housing complicated – as properly as glimpses into the 2nd floor of the visitor centre, which homes the Architectural Association’s teaching room and a 3D-print shop.
“The multi-storey creating makes use of ubiquitous HVAC metal ducts as a type of architectural vernacular,” said the architects. “The design of the facade aims to engage the public in different techniques.”
U-shaped sections of the piping lengthen from the creating, providing seating for pedestrians to rest on.
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The piping continues within the developing, delivering display spaces, desks and podiums for exhibition spaces. It also types furnishings for guests, pipes extending like branches from central tables to form seats.
Beijing Style Week ran from 24 September right up until 1 October. In a earlier edition, People’s Architecture Office developed a panelling method that could be used to construct short-term living spaces within the ageing structures of the city’s hutong districts.
Other architectural practices have also proposed choices for Beijing’s ancient homes, with neighborhood firm ReMIX Studio transforming a traditional residence in the Dashilar region into its personal office, and Arch Studio redeveloping a derelict building into a tea home.
Photography is by People’s Architecture Workplace and Liqun Zhao.
Diagram of facade installation – click for bigger picture 
Second floor exhibition room layout – click for more substantial image 
Exploded furniture diagram – click for greater picture 
