The Curtain: A Modern Interpretation of Chinese Architecture

Designers Larry Wen and Yibo Wang - Aoe Blend Tradition and Innovation in Sales Office Design

The Curtain is a testament to the designers' commitment to reshaping cultural self-confidence through innovative design solutions. The design's unique properties lie in its ability to engage new technology and materials to excavate the essence of Chinese architectural culture. The aim is to create a new form of Chinese architecture that adapts to the modern era and returns value to Chinese culture.

The design's primary challenge was to create a space that could serve two completely different functions - a sales office and a kindergarten. The solution was to add a removable green skin, a metal mesh, to the building's exterior. This layer not only creates a unique facade but also serves a sustainable purpose, protecting the building from direct sunlight and saving energy.

The metal mesh, sized at 3000mm wide x 11000mm high per piece, forms a sustainable curtain that links the internal and external spaces in an elegant transition. The translucent material presents a visually rich depth in space, while the graceful arc of the metal fabric salutes the Chinese architecture, which conforms to the logic of natural structure.

The design team, including Larry Wen, Yibo Wang, Chao Xie, and Yusong Zhang, conducted extensive research on the metal mesh. They studied its sustainability and the level of translucency it could provide to create a rich level of depth in space. The project, which started in June 2017 and completed in November 2017, is located in Chongqing, China.

The Curtain design has received the prestigious Platinum A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award in 2018. This award recognizes world-class, exceptional, and highly innovative designs that contribute to societal wellbeing and make the world a better place.