The aim of WJ Design was to make a difference from the traditional workspace in the neighborhood, by designing a space for office work, business conferences, activities, presentations and exhibitions. The project seeks to create a user experience similar to WEWORK shared workspaces.
The studio carried out the overall design of the space from the point of view of the positioning and functionality: sound-absorbing walls were used to make the space less noisy, as the high ceilings of the building caused a loud echo. Moreover, some preserved spaces make the building flexible towards future demands.
To enhance the connection of the workspace with the landscape, the original main entrance was changed into a sunken yard to be used in leisure time. Some of the preexisting interior spaces were relatively narrow and lack sunlight, so their walls were changed into glass. The round holes in the original building wall were preserved as windows.
Description of project by WJ Design
Y20 SPACE is located in the famous XiXi Wetland of Hangzhou and surrounded by charming natural scenery and profound historical culture. This area is attracting a large number of small and medium enterprises. It will be a space for office work, business conference, activities, presentations and exhibitions in the future.
The landscape of the original main entrance of the building is very good, so we changed it into sunken yard to let people to spend their leisure time here. The original building itself is like a letter Y, so the streamline of the indoor space is designed to act in coordination with the building. The holes in the original building wall are well preserved, just like eyes of the space soul.
Due to the limitations of the construction some parts of the interior space are relatively narrow and lack sun light. We changed some walls into glass so we could make a connection between the indoor and outdoor. Also we used a lot of natural material to make the people here can feel the seasons change.
We think that design is not a skill, but a sense of perception and insight that captures the nature of things. The main concern is not the form, the space or the image, but the user’ s experience. Space is invisible but it is as rich as life and full of dynamic just like breeze, you can’t see it but you can always feel it. This is a kind of new work environment experience that we always want to bring to people.
