Chinese architects Tao Liu and Chunyan Cai, founders of Shanghai-based Atelier Tao+C, have joined Dezeen Awards China 2024 as judges. Here, they select five projects that best reflect their work.
"In recent years our work has been in small-scale architectural remodelling and interior design, aiming to make connections in the often neglected gap between architecture and interiors", Liu and Cai told Dezeen.
"Our interest lies in finding expression in craftsmanship and detailing, using straightforward generic materials and unusual construction techniques," they added.
"We aim to accommodate the change and growth of objects, of people and light and time, to allow life to unfold in all its complexity."
Dezeen Awards China 2024 has launched in partnership with Bentley. Last week we announced our second set of Dezeen Awards China judges, architects Amanda Levete and Doreen Heng Liu, interior designers George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, designer Mario Tsai and art journalist Cao Dan.
The entry deadline for Dezeen Awards China 2024 is 23 August. Register your details and submit your projects by then to avoid late entry fees.
Read on to find Atelier Tao+C's views on the five projects that best reflect its work:
Capsule Hotel and Bookstore in Qinlongwu Village, Zhejiang, China, 2019
"An old country house was transformed into a 20-person capsule hostel, rural community bookstore and reading room.
"Two separate structures were incorporated into the space to serve as the boys' and girls' wing. Instead of using normal floor heights for the accommodation area, the height required for sitting, 1.35 metres, was used with interlocking floors to create interesting perspectives and unusual spatial scales.
"The entire mountain wall on the east side is cut open and a transparent structure made of wooden frames and corrugated polycarbonate panels is embedded within it, allowing a wide view of the green mountains and forests beyond."
Read more about Capsule Hotel and Bookstore ›
Ziin Beijing Store, Beijing, China, 2022
"We transformed a 1960s Beijing textile warehouse into a new showroom for a young domestic furniture brand, Ziin.
"Seeking a balance between the existing site and new function, we inserted two intersecting square frameworks, rotated 45 degrees and detached from the original four walls, forming a building within a building.
"The project uses industrially produced materials and products that are widely available. We exposed these and the structure of the building, showing the steel skeleton, timber column framing and assembled material surfaces, each component clearly identifiable.
"The finished frames show both the design and construction process, telling the story of how the structure was built."
Read more about Ziin Beijing Store ›
The Clash of Ideas exhibition, Shanghai, China, 2022
"Presented at the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Design and initiated by Wallpaper* magazine, this exhibition was made up of questions and answers from 34 groups of designers to reflect on the conditions of contemporary Chinese design.
"A continuous and unconventional table traverses a 40-metre-long staircase, providing a sharing platform for everyone's views on the subject.
"We used five-millimetre plywood supported only in the centre, causing a natural droop at the ends, making gravity visible and allowing people to look more easily down upon it.
"As a temporary exhibition with a short timeline and small budget, we needed to complete it economically and efficiently, and at the same time, make it easy to disassemble and recycle."
Hushiguang Tourist Center, Tingtangwe village, China, 2023
"At the entrance to Tingtangwe village we built a tourist centre. Not only does it serve as a resting place for tourists, but it is also a place for villagers to relax, converse and meet travellers.
"A corridor was made along the perimeter of the yard, enclosing a rectangular courtyard that forms a slight angle with the old house.
"The materials used for the gallery are industrial galvanised square tubes and stainless-steel corrugated sheets, cut and welded on site.
"The materials and construction methods used are simple and familiar to the residents in the village, creating a sense of home and security."
Naïve bookstore, Zhangjiakhou, China, 2024
"Collaborating with furniture brand Ziin, the bookshelves are made of fibreglass with stainless steel brackets. As the sun and shadows pass, the fibreglass softens the hard light creating a beeswax colour that vibrates and flows through the space.
"The concrete frame of the original building is replaced by a new steel and wood frame system, creating areas with no clear boundaries and new spatial relationships.
"The light-coloured birch wood and the fibreglass reflect the snowy landscape outside, lightening the original grey concrete space, like a warm mist rising from the snow."
Enter now!
Dezeen Awards China 2024 is open for entries. Find out about all of this year's categories and log in or create an account to start your entries. Enter before 23 August to avoid late entry fees.
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Dezeen Awards China 2024 in partnership with Bentley
Dezeen Awards China is the first regional edition of Dezeen Awards which celebrates the best architecture, interiors and design in China. The annual awards programme is in partnership with Bentley as part of a wider collaboration to inspire, support and champion design excellence and showcase innovation that creates a better and more sustainable world. This ambition complements Bentley's architecture and design business initiatives, including the Bentley Home range of furnishings and real estate projects around the world.