Dongqi Design has created Building 1 for YEARLY PLAN Shanghai, serving as a retail and exhibition space on the densely populated Changle Road in the historic city center. The renovation preserves the building’s original urban fabric and maintains its existing volume.
Inside the building, the vertical pier structure consists of irregular concrete piers on each side with a staircase nestled between them. This serves as the sole vertical load-bearing element within the space. Large glass surfaces and a column-free layout offer unobstructed views of Building 2 in the courtyard and the street scene with camphor trees along Changle Road.
The roof’s load is supported by four 40mm-thick steel plates intersecting at various angles. These steel plates transfer the weight to the concrete piers below. The structure is an asymmetric, eccentric system, where each steel plate has a unique shape and varying overhangs up to 7 meters. The exterior of the concrete piers resembles rough, raw stone, while the staircase appears as a single carved slab embedded within. Notably, the inner faces of the split piers are slightly inclined rather than parallel.
The exterior concrete piers are hand-chiseled to a rough texture, while the staircase sides are hand-polished multiple times, offering two distinct textures from the same material. Both the air conditioning and fresh air systems are integrated within the floor structure, with custom air outlet covers designed to blend seamlessly with the flooring. This integration maximizes the effective floor height.
The design separates the vertical concrete piers from the horizontal floor slabs, enhancing the visual verticality of the piers. The staircase features a stainless steel circular handrail that extends from the first to the third floor and loops back to the first floor, forming a continuous closed path. Where the handrail is located, it functions as a railing; elsewhere, it doubles as a clothing display rod and integrates lighting elements within the space.
The height of the rainwater gutter along the sloped roof is carefully matched to the floor slab thickness of the other facade levels. Rainwater gutters from all sides converge above the corner glass on the third floor, where water cascades into a custom stainless steel planter on the terrace, creating a water feature that irrigates the terrace landscaping.
The building’s facade proportions have been carefully designed. Along the courtyard side, the facade resembles three horizontally unfolded paintings, reflecting the surrounding scenery during the day and revealing the interior ambiance at night.
Project Drawings
△ Base schematic diagram
△ General layout plan
△ First floor plan
△ First floor plan
△ Second floor plan
△ Third floor plan
△ Section diagram
△ Section diagram
△ Elevation drawing
△ Elevation drawing
△ Elevation drawing
△ Elevation drawing
Project Information
Architect: Dongqi Design
Area: 430 m²
Project Year: 2023
Photographer: Yasu Kojima
Manufacturers: Beijing Dragon Decoration, FLOS, Fritz Hansen
Chief Creative Designer: Jiang Nan
Design Team: He Weijing, Wu Huiyi, Wang Ning, Wang Tong, Zhang Danyi, Xu Jing, Ma Xiaoyu, Wang Ruowei
Principal: YEARLY PLAN
Function: Retail, Gallery, Commercial Office
Structural Design: Yuan Xin Engineering Consultant
Mechanical and Electrical Design: Jingyi Shanghai
Lighting Consultant: Quansheng Lighting
Plant Consultant: TOOLUTE
Location: Jing’an District, Shanghai
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