area 118 | condominium

architect: Sako Architects

location: Beijing, China

year: 2008

photo by Beijing NDC Studio, INC., Misae Hiromatsu

‘BUMPS in Beijing’ is an integrated project with four residences as well as a commercial building. The traditional residence buildings in China are oriented south and north. With the increase in the density of the buildings, the traditional method causes buildings too close to each other and the rooms facing to the north can hardly get sunshine.
‘BUMPS in Beijing’ is rotated by 45 degrees from the north-south axis. This design can provide optimum sunshine for each building and also can short cut the way to the central business areas from different directions. The residence buildings are 80 meters height. Every two floors are set as a unit. Every unit is staggered by 2 meters horizontally. Whole 80m’s building is repetitions of these units. The setback areas are used for terraces. Interlaced black and white units highlight the concave-convex façade and show a clear lineament of the building. All the windows are 1 meter square. Randomly placed windows weaken the existence of all pillars and beams. Therefore, the appearance of the buildings look like stacked by lots of small black and white ‘boxes’ together. The cities in China have been changing in tremendous speed. ‘BUMPS in Beijing’ located in southern west Beijing where the area is under development. The purpose of this design is not to merge into surrounding circumstances, but be a ‘Strong existence’ as a landmark leading the development of this area.