In order for the rather inconvenient building of an abandoned warehouse on Wai Yip 133 Street, which is closed from the outside world, to become part of a large project to transform the industrial area of Hong Kong into a new business center, the architects of the MVRDV bureau had to completely remove its "filling", clean up absolutely everything, leaving only a bare skeleton concrete structures, and try to re-dress him in a more appropriate "outfit". It was this approach that made it possible to both preserve the relationship with the historical past and return the building to the modern city. Work on the project has been carried out since April 2013 in cooperation with Arch-Innovativ.
The building with a total area of 18,000 m2 combines various functions: the ground floor is occupied by shops, the next two are for restaurants, the rest are for offices. There is a public area on the roof overlooking the adjacent embankment. The office floors received balconies, which, together with huge windows (the glazing area also achieved the maximum possible), are designed to let in as much sunlight as possible into the interior spaces. The rear wall, facing a narrow street, has been replaced with a completely glass one. So that all work processes are visible even to casual passers-by.
The remaining concrete structures were simply covered with white plaster. And all the new stuffing of the building is absolutely transparent with individual parts made of stainless steel: glass elevators ride through glass shafts, showing all the movements of employees, even the escape stairs are made of fireproof glass. The architects also designed an all-glass office design - from floors, walls and shelving to desks, computers and speakers - to ensure absolute permeability of the interior space. After evaluating the sample, future tenants can order such a solution for themselves. The idea is obvious: today's open society and modern transparent business need just such an interior.
By moving all communications closer to the distant facade, the architects succeeded and significantly improved the layouts of the working floors. Free, open space on each floor can accommodate from one to four tenants. Finally, a renovated building uses 17% less energy per year, which is also critical to its success.