HOUJIE TIMES Commercial Complex was located in Houjie Town, Dongguan City, the First Industrial Zone in the Liaoxia district. We are dedicated to preserving and renovating the original industrial buildings into a cultural and creative zone called “Houjie Times.” This new neighborhood will glorify the spirit of industrial heritage and the throbbing viability of urban betterment.
© Cat-Optogram Studio
The architectural complex is a shot of the history of modern economic development in the Pearl River Delta. This was a factory site in the town center, faced with increased consumer demand by the local population and evolving consumption trends. There was a dire need for diversified contemporary consumer spaces; thus, it became the ideal location for the new “Houjie Times” project. With this background, it is intended to respect as much as possible the construction logic of the original building while renovating it to express a new spirit of Houjie.
We adopt a restrained and precise approach of addition and subtraction on the original building?s skeletal framework. The design strategy primarily involves the removal of the aging outer decorative layers, exposing the structural framework to highlight the distinctive construction features of the industrial factory buildings from that era. This approach is not only rooted in the protection and utilization of industrial architecture but also in the inheritance and continuation of its era-specific memories an...