Kongo Kuma and Associates has renovated a Siheyuan-style building located directly opposite the East Gate of the Forbidden palace in the heart of Beijing. The design team used four different traslucent block types, produced through rotational molding, to extend the existing traditional building.
The main structures in the city of Beijing are made out of masonry bricks. The blocks made of polyethylene used by Kengo Kuma for this project, are in this sense a modern version of masonry. It proves high performance in insulation and passes through light to create a gentle space of Zen, just as the paper did used for Siheyuan in the past.
all images © Koji Fujii / Nacasa & Partners Inc.