A Skin-Deep Transformation

In the heart of Tianjin’s urban core, a car dealership that used to greet pedestrians with a 220-foot Peugeot blue, corrugated metal wall, now welcomes them to the future of urban development at the Lake West 5 Exhibition Hall.

With a new skin, what was once a closed, blue box is transformed by transparent, glass curtain walls on top of which sit giant blocks of illuminated, translucent glass. The new exterior design segments the building, allowing pedestrians to experience it at a smaller, friendlier scale. A delicate, metal screen acts like a curtain as it curves inward across the middle third of the building, inviting the public into its central lobby.

The segmentation of the building and the way it plays with different degrees of visibility anticipate the two phases of the exhibition hall’s life. At present, its glass bays host prospective apartment buyers, giving them a taste of the design of the residences that are being constructed behind the building. In the future, these will host retail, restaurants, a food court, and other public amenities, while the central lobby will act as a foyer that future residents will pass through on their way to apartments beyond. In this way, the exhibition hall will expand public space while delivering the privacy desired by the development’s future residents.