Shanghai-based studio Team BLDG has turned the bathhouse of a former aluminium factory in Xiamen City into an art gallery and studio called The Field for an artist who creates Buddha statues.
Team BLDG redesigned the bathhouse of the old factory, which was converted into a creative office park in 2019, from the inside out to create a series of toplit spaces for artist Jiang Sheng.
"Based on the architectural concept of 'the residence of Buddha', we renovated the building from the inside out," architect Xiao Lei told Dezeen.
Top image: the gallery is a former bathhouse. Above: the architects closed off the exterior facing the street
"For the facade, we blocked up all the south side windows facing the main street, to make the new facade, resulting in three blocks arranged south to north that shape a rhythmic stepped form," Lei added. "The magnolia tree at the east side can be a landmark of the renovated building, and guide visitors inside."
The facade was painted a sandalwood-yellow hue
After rearranging and simplifying the building's exterior, the studio had it hand-painted in the same sandalwood yellow as the interior ? a colour that is also traditionally associated with Buddhism.
The studio wanted to create a "hidden and invisible architecture" that would work as an intermedium to showcase the Buddha statues and contain the essence of Buddhism. The large magnolia tree outside the building also influenced the design.
"To make the...