BEI Function Space / Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

Architects: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office
Location: Taikoo Li Sanlitun North No. 11, Sanlitun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, Beijing, China
Design Team: Lyndon Neri, Rossana Hu, Briar Hickling, Jacqueline Min, Qixiaofeng, Daisy Yuen, Nicolas Fardet, Christine Neri, Siwei Park
Area: 350.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

Program: Event Space
Special Features: Terrazzo Landscape with Skylight, Glass Brick Enclosure, Movable Bar Millwork, Bronze Details, Sliding Glass Panels, Custom Lights, Custom Furniture
Interiors – Materials: Glass Brick, Terrazzo, Exposed Concrete, Acoustic Plaster, Black Powder Coated Metal, Brushed Brass, Mirror, Stained Oak Millwork.
Interiors – Fixtures & Fittings: Dorma, Hafele
Interiors – Decorative Lighting: Custom Pendants and Floor Lamps by Neri&Hu
Interiors – Furniture: Custom Vitrine, Coat Closet, Dining Tables, Leaners, and Side Tables by Neri&Hu, De La Espada Solo Bar Stool, De La Espada Solo Lounge Chair, and Magis Pila Chair.

Text description provided by the architects. Neri&Hu rehauls Opposite House’s BEI restaurant into “BEI Space” a multipurpose function room serving the increasing demand for meeting and event spaces in Beijing. While the typical function room in a hotel tends to be situated in dark enclosures with no natural light, the given site actually has an existing skylight. To fully utilize this asset, the design challenge becomes how to bring in as much light as possible to the space and how to subdue any sense of being underground. The resulting design concept, first, creates a landscape zone that is bathed in light, and second, inserts within it a luminous glass box.

The terrazzo landscape starts from the elevated skylight along the existing southern edge of the site. The extent of the terrazzo landscape is articulated through a series of vertical terrazzo stratum, seemingly carved and sliced with precision to define this enveloping corridor. Guided by the direction of daylight, the terrazzo stratum runs in a uniform direction towards the edge of the underground chamber, overlooking the pool below.

Sitting within this landscape is a jewel-like translucent object that glimmers in the daylight and glows in the evening. The boundaries of the luminous box define the perimeter of the main function space which can be further divided depending on the use. Taking cues from the gray brick constructions that are ubiquitous in Beijing, the glass enclosure is actually formed by cast glass bricks arranged in a typical brick bond pattern. Every single brick is painstakingly laid piece by piece, and tied in structurally to a vertical wall system. The material allows all natural light to penetrate deep into the space while only offering obscured views, to maintain levels of privacy.

Custom furniture pieces, such as the moveable food and beverage stations are modeled after traditional street vendor carts. Custom bulb lights are arranged in a grid above for a simple yet elegant illuminations system for maximum flexibility of the space.