Coworking spaces such as SOHO 3Q WuJiaoChang are places that buzz with energy. Where the unexpected forms part of your daily agenda. For China’s millennials, the country’s largest demographic by far, they are work environments for new encounters – places where you can meet interesting people and create new things together. It is a way to come into contact with other talented people, mavericks, movers, and doers, who could perhaps become your next coworkers or business partners. Our transformation of a Shanghai department store from the 1980s makes a stimulating contribution to this subject – and with it, to the future of the work environment. The client commissioning this project was SOHO China, the country’s largest private real estate developer, which has already made a name for itself with its spectacular construction projects.
The heart of the building – the campus. In Wujiaochang, a trendy district with numerous shopping malls near Shanghai University, the opportunity arose to transform a disused department store with 14,000 square meters and five levels into this kind of dynamic workspace. Via the two-level campus on the ground floor, the energy of the coworking space connects with the pulse of the city. The campus forms the centerpiece of the building: a two-level community hub designed for business talks, presentations, formal and spontaneous meetings, and a place to have coffee. A new spiral staircase makes a bold sculptural gesture, connecting all upper floors and ensuring that the creative community life continues on every level.
Communication offers on all floors. On each of the five levels, users are welcomed in a central reception area. Around the reception area is grouped a diverse array of communication areas: small and large conference rooms, cafeterias and more concentrated workspaces, such as small conference niches, alcoves and acoustically shielded telephone booths. Separate private offices in denominations of two to 30 workstations offer an easily scalable, flexible work environment for a total of 2.500 people.
A place of longing for professional ambitions. The design language mirrors the energy of the coworking ethos: terrazzo floors, open ceilings and wooden surfaces teamed with bold colors create an inspiring yet engaging atmosphere for a target group that is always on the move. In order to zone such a large area into identifiable spaces, each level is dedicated to a well-known personality, who effected a revolutionary change in perception in their particular field of endeavor: portraits of Ieoh Ming Pei, Steve Jobs, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, and Thomas Edison decorate the walls and give each level its unique identity. Individual graphic and color concepts provide a further means of differentiation. The five levels thereby become work havens for your particular professional ambitions.
Project Info:
Architects: Ippolito Fleitz Group
Location: Augustenstraße 87, 70197 Stuttgart, Germany
Category: Office Buildings
Architect in Charge: Peter Ippolito
Design Team: Kim Angenendt, Ruth Calimlim, Gunter Fleitz, Wei Gao, Lena Grzib, Jonathan Hernandez, Peiyu Ho, Peter Ippolito, Axel Knapp, Tim Lessmann, Kanru Liu, Jose Miso, Mario Rodriguez, Carolin Stusak, David Tong, Yu Yan, Wenso Yang, Dirk Zschunke
Area: 14000.0 m2
Project Year: 2019
Photographs: Sui Sicong, CreatAR Image
Collaborators: Arcplus Shanghai Xiandai (Local Design Institute)
