Articles by Collin Chen

Based in the Netherlands, FRAME is a well-known media devoted to recording and promoting cutting-edge interior design, covering the design of products, home decor, material, and fashion. In 2020, FRAME magazine collaborated with Sunshine PR to establish an editorial branch in China and commissioned ARCHSTUDIO to conduct the interior design of the new office located in the Loft space of Upperhills, in the core area of Futian CBD in Shenzhen. The office is a workplace and also a platform to exhibit cooperative culture. Directly connected to Lianhuashan Park and Bijiashan Park, Upperhills enjoys facilities including an art theater, upscale apartments, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Galeries Lafayette, etc., presenting a unique international cultural and commercial atmosphere. The open and relaxing multifunctional urban space vibes of Upperhills fit well with FRAME’s open and inclusive media attitude.

“Just like the small moss flowers but also bloom like peonies.” Shenzhen Nanshan Education Kindergarten is located in Shenzhen Bay. Due to the tight supply of school places in the area, it needs to provide a facility for 21 classes, and 630 kids. With a plot ratio of 1.6, which is regularly within 0.8, it is a super large-scale kindergarten in a high-density tropical city.

The  Little Phoenix Kindergarten has 12 classes, and covers an area of 7776㎡, with a total floorage of approximately 7000 ㎡. Although the FAR is not very high, the land is narrow and irregular in the north-south direction (130m long in the north-south direction, and the narrowest in the east-west direction is 30m), which brings difficulty to the design. The purpose of the design is very clear: how to create a comfortable space to meet the needs of children’s daily life and learning, based on meeting the requirements of lighting standards, activity venue area, and floor number, with specially-designated land, limited investment, and tight construction period.

The project is located in Impression Meilin Scenic Area, Pingtong Qiang Ethnic Township, Pingwu County, Sichuan Province, China, about 4 kilometers away from the nearest Qiang ethnic settlement called “Zouma Qiang Village”. Green plum is the most representative local industry. Plum Villa is situated in thousands of acres of plum orchard halfway up the hill, where used to be a dilapidated old brick kiln. The common features of “square” and “trapezoid” in the plum drying hearth and Qiang ethnic dwellings, as well as the light and shadow on the corridor in the old brick kiln, all of them leave us with a strong and “unconscious” impression, then become the three most significant “imagery source” in our design for the Plum Villa, all of these elements embody highly simplified geometric features. The process of obtaining these geometric “imagery sources” is reminiscent of Aldo Rossi’s architectural typology.

Construction Background – Constitution is the fundamental law of the country and the general statute for governing the country and the state. The full implementation of the Constitution is the primary task and fundamental work of comprehensively promoting the rule of law and building a socialist state under the rule of law. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed that adherence to the rule of law requires adherence to the rule of the constitution, and adherence to governing by law requires adherence to governing by the constitution. The “Seventh Five-Year Plan” and “Eighth Five-Year Plan” of the Party Central Committee and the State Council emphasize the need to “innovate carrier positions” and “fully implement the constitutional oath system “. Also, it needs to “set up a link to salute to Constitution in new citizen ceremony, youth-adult ceremony, student graduation ceremony, and other activities “. Well, learning, implementing, and executing the spirit of the General Secretary’s important speech, especially how to publicize Xi Jinping’s thoughts on the rule of law for the general public in a more lively form, to make every citizen deeply aware that adhering to the rule of the country and governing in accordance with Constitution requires adhering to the leading position of the CPC as determined by Constitution without wavering, adhering to the state system of the people’s democratic dictatorship and the NPC congress system as determined by Constitution, that is an important task for the promotion and education of the rule of law at present and in future. Since Nanjing has no specific place for constitutional propaganda and education, it needs to build a fully functional and comprehensive constitutional park that integrates Xi Jinping’s thoughts on the rule of law, the important carrier for promoting the spirit of the Constitution, the solemn place of saluting Constitution for all citizens, and the urban landmark for the culture of the rule of law into a whole, so that people can imperceptibly learn, revere, and salute Constitution. The Nanjing Constitutional Park project was issued with a construction planning permit on November 25, 2021, and a piling construction permit on December 3. The construction officially began on December 4, the eighth National Constitution Day, and was completed and opened to the public on December 4, 2022.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of city life, Bananain’s first Concept Store in Beijing is situated in the west of Sanlitun, known as the “dirty street” before restoration. With this narrow network of alleys, the site connects the northern and southern districts of Sanlitun, foresting “wildness” interwoven with meticulously crafted commercial forms here. Through re-examining essential elements of the surrounding environment, Some Thoughts aspire to capture the diverse cultural background and commercial ambiance to weave into the interior design.

HOMERUS is a start-up in the field of solid wood bespoke furniture and met us through a project collaboration. The site is located on the first floor of an industrial building in the north of the park, with a separate entrance. The owner wanted this showroom to meet the following needs in the future: product display and sales; business negotiations; daily office; small events and receptions; product photography, etc. The room is small in size, with four thick steel columns to the east of the centre, supporting a double-sloped roof with a north-south orientation. The windows on the north side are all located close to the floor plate, with two high windows on the east side. There are metal standing blocking panels along the edge of the roof, which can be removed.