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OPEN Architecture


Biography

Open Architecture was founded by Huang Wenjing and Li Hu in New York in 2003.
Their Beijing office, opened in 2008, focuses on architectural design and urban planning, together with interior design and furnishings.
After graduating from Tsinghua University, Beijing in 1996 and a Masters in Architecture from Rice University in 1998, Li Hu worked with Steven Holl Architects (SHA) from 2000 to 2010, becoming a partner in the Practice in 2005.

During his time at Steven Holl Architects, Li founded and led the Beijing office, carrying out major projects including the Linked Hybrid in Beijing (awarded Best Tall Building in 2009), Vanke Center, Shenzhen (AIA National Honor Award, 2011), Raffles City, Chengdu and Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing. Alongside Steven Holl and Yungho Chang he founded the architecture magazine32: Beijing/New York.
In 2011 Li Hu left the SHA partnership to focus on managing OPEN Architecture, alongside his partner Huang Wenjing.

A member of AIA, Wenjing graduated from Tsinghua University, Beijing in 1996 and obtained a Master in Architecture from Princeton University in 1999.
Before joining OPEN, Huang was Senior Designer and Associate in the New York architects practice, Pei Cobb Freed and Partners. He was also senior editor of World Architecture magazine from 2006 to 2007.
Both architects continue to lecture at numerous universities and cultural institutions in the United States and Asia.
 
Open Architecture designs focus on urban development and its effects on society and the environment.
“Architecture touches upon aesthetics, image, light, materiality, details, spirituality and many other things. But its innovative power is to transform people and the way they live, while striking a new balance between the man-made and nature.”
They are primarily interested in the regions and history of China, observing and researching these in detail in order to preserve traditions yet empower social emancipation through architecture.

Their most significant projects include the Gehua Youth Center in Qinhuangdao (2012), where the concept of learning is combined with an interdisciplinary approach which amalgamates various arts.
Surrounded by nature and protected from the noise and chaos of the city, the 2,700 sq.m. multi-function building includes a theater, gallery, multi-purpose spaces, café and multi-media rooms.
With the aim of maximizing both the preservation of nature on site and the diversity of spatial qualities, OPEN designed a building which is completely fused with nature".
Indoor spaces are fully connected to the outside landscape. Designed for maximum flexibility, the spaces assume and perform different functions.

For example, the central courtyard is not only part of the landscape throughout the year but is also an extension to the theater for hosting a much larger crowd during events and exhibitions. The project won first prize at the 2012 WA Awards for Chinese Architecture, Best Architecture Award at the Third China Architecture Media Awards and Gold Award at the Asia Pacific Interior Design Awards 2013 (APIDA).
Located in the center of a new urban area, the Garden School (2014) is a public school, with abundant green areas and open space, designed as a satellite of the well-known No. 4 High School in Beijing.

Space limitations on site called for a vertical approach. Inside, the spatial complexity is impressive: “the juxtaposition of the upper and lower buildings, connected in various ways, was a choice that illustrates the relationship between formal and informal educational spaces".
Unlike the “hierarchical” structure of typical campuses, organized around an axis which drives movement, the Garden School is free-form and acts as a repository for a multitude of centers. Sustainability is also a key factor with the project aiming to be the first school building in the country with a 3-star rating (a standard which exceeds LEED Gold certification). In addition, everyone who enters the school enjoys an authentic urban experience since each space has a powerful identity.

The new ocean research center and offices at Tsinghua University’s Graduate School in Shenzhen (2016) has also adopted a vertical campus structure, to encourage interaction between students and staff. The building houses laboratories and offices over 15 floors "interconnecting with each other both horizontally and vertically through public areas for socialization. The courtyard’s role in traditional housing layouts is translated into transitional spaces between the floors, with stairs and elevators which not only connect the different levels, also offer places to rest, contemplate the landscape and enjoy the public space (M. Corradi). The Tsinghua Ocean Center won the Best Architecture for Education Award from the AIA and Civic Trust Awards, both in 2018.

Other notable projects include the Ucca Dune Museum of Art, Qinhuangdao (2018) and a series of buildings currently under construction, including the Pingshan Performing Arts Center, Tank Shanghai redevelopment of the former industrial area into an urban park and art complex, Chapel of Sound, Chengde, in a valley to the north of Beijing, and the Qingpu Pinghe school complex, Shanghai.
 
Open Architecture selected works and projects
 
- Semi-outdoor Concert Hall Chapel of Sound, Chengde (Cina), 2019 - in corso
- School as a Village, Shanghai (Cina), 2019 - in corso
- Pingshan Performing Arts Center, Shenzhen (Cina), 2019 - in corso
- Tank Shangai, Shanghai (Cina), 2019
- Sea Art Museum, Qinhuangdao (Cina), 2018 - in corso
- Ucca Dune Art Museum, Qinhuangdao (Cina), 2018
- Pudong Art Museum (progetto), Shangai (Cina), 2016
- Tsinghua Ocean Center, Shenzhen (Cina), 2016
- Hex-Sys - Prototipo di Centri culturali polifunzionali riutilizzabili, Guangzhou (Cina), 2015
- New Shenzhen Art Museum and Library (progetto), Shenzhen (Cina), 2015
- Stepped Courtyards, Changle (Cina), 2014
- Garden School, Pechino (Cina), 2014
- Prototipo per padiglioni commerciali contemporanei, Pechino (Cina), 2013
- Gehua Youth Cultural Center, Qinhuangdao (Cina), 2012
- Appartamenti Stepped Courtyards, Changle (Cina), 2012
- Riqualificazione dello Studio X, Pechino (Cina), 2009
- Casa Dragonbay, Pechino (Cina), 2009
 
Official website:
 
www.openarch.com

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