△ Project Overview Video
This project involves the interior renovation of the Liu Shen Law Firm’s office. The firm is dedicated to providing professional and comprehensive intellectual property legal services to clients worldwide and is recognized as one of China’s leading intellectual property law firms by both domestic and international enterprises.
01. Renovation Highlights: Balancing Old and New
△ Project Location
The office is situated in a commercial building in Beijing’s Haidian District. The renovation focuses on the law firm’s reception floor, primarily used for client reception, meetings, and employee training. Due to the standard layout constraints of commercial office buildings, the renovation could not focus solely on aesthetics but had to prioritize function.
Before renovation, the reception area reflected a traditional law firm style emphasizing order and seriousness. However, its closed layout and limited natural lighting created a somewhat oppressive atmosphere.
On-site view before renovation
The client’s goal was to improve space utilization and expand the conference area, while creating a bright, functional environment. The design focused heavily on enhancing lighting and functionality.
02. Light and Tone: Establishing the Atmosphere
“Architects are both scientists and artists, solving problems in three dimensions, using structure and materials to create humanized spaces, capturing the play of light and shadow, and giving the space aesthetic value.” — Richard Rogers, Place for Everyone
From the outset, maximizing natural light penetration within the existing layout and window conditions was a key design challenge. The original layout included a reception area, guest lounge, and six conference rooms. Natural light entered mainly from windows on the north, south, and east sides, but thick solid walls limited light flow due to the need for privacy in client consultations.
Lighting analysis before renovation
Lighting analysis after renovation
The design replaced heavy walls with transparent glass partitions and integrated natural light sources along circulation paths, opening up the space and significantly enhancing brightness in the elevator lobby, reception, and corridors.
△ Entrance reception area
△ Entrance elevator hall
The design incorporates perforated metal panels in the reception and tea room partitions, creating transparency and layering. A golden “S”-shaped folding surface, symbolizing the owner’s initial, gently descends like an elegant curtain, introducing light and warmth.
△ Golden prologue – hollow folding surface
△ Corridor passage
Considering the demanding nature of legal work, the reception floor uses soft, warm tones to balance professionalism with a more relaxed, inviting atmosphere. This design aims to reduce environmental stress and promote seamless communication by harmonizing light and color.
03. Boundaries and Lines: Functional Reorganization
Unlike many industries, the intellectual property legal field requires handling multiple concurrent cases, frequent client visits, and online meetings in the post-pandemic era. Court hearings also demand flexible, private meeting spaces. Therefore, creating small to medium-sized independent meeting rooms was a core focus of the renovation.
The original six conference rooms were large but underutilized, causing inefficiency.
△ Functional analysis before and after renovation (GIF)
The redesign optimized the layout to create one training room accommodating 48 people, one large conference room for 18, and seven small to medium rooms for 6–12 attendees each.
△ Spatial trajectory analysis (GIF)
△ Spatial behavior analysis (GIF)
Each conference room features switchable frosted glass partitions, allowing privacy as needed. Combined with soundproofing partitions, acoustic ceiling and flooring materials, the design ensures confidentiality and comfort for case discussions.
△ Large training room
△ Large conference room
△ Small and medium-sized conference rooms
△ Switchable frosted glass effect in conference rooms (GIF)
The flexible ceiling partitions allow smaller meeting rooms to be combined or separated, accommodating various meeting sizes and internal training needs.
△ Medium/small meeting rooms can be combined or separated with ceiling partitions (GIF)
△ Small conference room
The original rest area and bathroom were reconfigured to optimize circulation. The east side of the entrance reception now houses a tea room adjacent to the reception, serving as a client waiting area and a casual space for staff meetings and breaks.
The tea room and interior walls incorporate simulated daylight to maintain a bright and inviting atmosphere.
The only bathroom within the renovation scope was relocated from the original conference area and redesigned as separate male and female facilities. This change improves accessibility and creates a more comfortable experience for clients and staff alike.
△ Restroom
As a new office renovation by the Zhizhi team, this project not only meets the owner’s requirements but also reconsiders the traditional, high-pressure legal office environment. Through comfortable lighting, soft materials, and human-centered design, it creates a brighter, warmer, and more welcoming reception and meeting space, earning high praise from the owner.
Project Information
- Project Name: Interior Office Space Renovation Design of Liu Shen Law Firm
- Design Firm: CCDI International Smart Interior Design
- Design & Completion: November 2020 – October 2021
- Lead Designer: Li Zhiyu
- Design Proposal: Pu Yuzhen
- Design Team: Sun Ruixue, Ma Yiming, Zhang Xinyu, Yang Yanling, Gong Lei
- Location: Haidian District, Beijing
- Area: 723 square meters
- Main Materials: Perforated aluminum panels, woven carpet, wood veneer, artificial stone
- Photography: Lu Fei, Ren Enbin
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