In many ways the conversion of the old factory site in Changchun is a typical post-industrial redevelopment that includes saving some exemplar buildings and adding contemporary functions. These former factories seldom have a lasting architectural quality, but in spatial and dogmatic organization they represent a defining age in China worth keeping.
Located in North-East China, Changchun - sometimes called the “Detroit of China” because of its automotive industry –has been an important industrial city for the last 100 year. Standing next to the East expressway the project is on a visually prominent position among a monoculture of new residential towers.
Developed by Vanke to be a flagship project of their Vanke Hills series, the project was constructed in subsequent stages since 2010 with each building developed as an interdependent element. Representation is found in the materiality of the buildings: steel for the old factory, brick for the offices and plaster for the residential tower. A returning feature is the customized windows with high insulation glass that provide the buildings with a generous amount of daylight inside while deeper indoors intimate spaces allow for more privacy. This concept complements a variety of spatial qualities and creates comfortable places to work and live.
