Neri&Hu adds rusty Corten steel facades to former industrial compound

Architecture studio Neri&Hu has transformed a former industrial compound in China, into a creative hub, wrapped in a rusty Corten steel facade to reference the site's history.

Called The Yard, the mixed-use creative development is located in the centre of Dalian, a northeastern city in Shandong Province, surrounded by university campuses and software parks.

Neri&Hu converted six buildings on the site formerly used as offices, warehouses, and dormitories for a chemical research institute in the 1980s.

The compound now comprises galleries, retailers, offices, hospitality, a cinema, theatre and a small public library near the entrance.

"As an adaptive reuse project, the aim is to transform the compound into a destination to serve the local community and student population," Neri&Hu told Dezeen.

"Our design challenge was to find an architectural language that could unify the buildings, which all have varying heights and distinct facades that have undergone previous renovation efforts."

The studio created an enclosed courtyard in a U-shaped configuration with the same facade language used on each building and a new spatial system of walls, screens and canopies added.

Acontinuous passage connecting all buildings surrounds the central plaza, framing a large rock landscape, previously served for parking.

According to the Shanghai-based studio the arrangement wass informed by traditional Chinese gardens, to celebrate the compound's hidden nature "as a contemplative space offering refuge from urban cacophony".

"The concept behind The Yard stems from a reflection on the project's context, situated in a hidden and introverted locus within the city; a small haven of a soon to be forgotten urban memory," said Neri&Hu.

Corten steel is the main surface material throughout the compound, paying homage to the site's industrial past, while its changing nature through time will maintain the record of the buildings' future evolution.

The existing stucco facades of the former workers dormitory, which will be converted into offices, were kept and restored.

On the ground floor, a series of wooden gates and garage stalls used for repairs in the past also keep their original look, waiting to be adapted into creative retail spaces.

A full-height glazed opening at the back building of the compound reveals the gallery spaces inside.

Inside the buildings, new plaster finishes along with partially exposed bricks and structural elements were designed to create a contrast between old and new.

Neri&Hu was established by Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu in 2004. The interdisciplinary studio is known for projects that respond to the context and heritage of their settings.

The practice's previous projects include a bao restaurant in France and an arts centre featuring rows of arches and barrel vaults, both reference Shanghai's traditional alleyways.

The photography is by DONG Image, unless stated otherwise.

Project credits:

Client: Dalian Chuanshi Yiju Business Management Co – The Yard
Partners-in-charge: Lyndon Neri, Rossana Hu
Associate-in-charge: Zhao Lei
Design team: Ivy Feng, Wenbo Da, Christine Chang, Siyu Chen, Susana Sanglas, Feiteng Feng, Haiou Xin, Ziyang Lin, Lyuqitiao Wang, Greg Wu
LDI: Zhongdi Design Group Co
Lighting: Linea Light (China) Co, Hangzhou ROLEDS Technology Co
General Contractor: Dalian Qian Sheng Feng Design Engineering Co

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