Red Bricks Redefined
d+a|Issue 124
Domani architectural concepts adapts the traditional chinese red brick to create a sustainable, cultural landmark in foshan, china.
Michele Koh Morollo
Red Bricks Redefined

In response to the reigning in of the real estate sector by the Chinese government, Chinese real estate developer Times China Holdings hired Guangzhou-headquartered architecture firm DOMANI Architectural Concepts to design the TIC Art Center.

The result is a thoughtfully-planned, sustainably built, multi-functional, cultural complex in the city of Foshan in Guangzhou designed to serve its community as an urban landmark.

The developers wanted the Center – which contains public showrooms, offices, sales areas, as well as a public lounge, bar, installation art spaces and a children’s zone – to have a low eco-footprint and an engaging landscape design that both locals and visitors to the city can enjoy.

Ann Yu, DOMANI’s co-founder and design director, divided the project into three parts – landscape, architecture and interior design.

The landscaping was conceived as a grand prelude to the building’s entrance and includes upper and lower-level circulation routes. Red ceramic bricks that evoke a sense of ceremony were used to create a path guiding pedestrians entering from different directions towards the building.

“The upper and lower levels of the circulation are intertwined to create a rich, multi-directional and intuitive experiential route,” says Yu.

The landscaping also includes a black gravel-paved garden and an iconic circular pond – one of the largest artificial waterscapes in Guangzhou – which has already become a tourist attraction. A viewing platform stretches into the middle of this pond, and walking along it, users can see a panorama of the building’s texturally intriguing brick façade.

This story is from the Issue 124 edition of d+a.

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This story is from the Issue 124 edition of d+a.

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