Dec 12, 2025
WE START WITH THE THINGS WE FIND
concept & vision
Sanlitun North is located in one of the central Beijing neighborhoods that were radically transformed for the 2008 Olympics. It is part of a large commercial development with Master Plan by Kengo Kuma, conceived as one of the sides of an internal pedestrian piazza
design & architecture
facing the pedestrian piazza, the building is a three-dimensional billboard wrapped by blue metal mesh. This performs as a second skin, buffering city noise and filtering direct sunlight, while referencing a building under construction. Stainless steel with large glazed fronts volumes pierce the mesh layer and bend in varying angles extending the interior space onto the piazza as entrances, display windows or billboards for the stores on the lower levels, and as oversized bay windows for the offices above
program & use
our building houses primarily high-end retail on the lower levels along with restaurants and office suites on the higher floors
impact & significance
working within the given parameters of concrete-framed buildings, an international collaboration to create interesting public space