NERI&HU,THE YARD, DALIAN CULTURAL CENTER, CHINA
Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, an interdisciplinary design firm founded by Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu in 2006 in Shanghai, has designed The Yard Cultural Centre in the city of Dalian, one of China's main ports in Korea Bay. The project is located in a heterogeneous building context dating back to the 1980s, whose unifying feature combines references to both Chinese tradition and a contemporary architectural idiom to create a new design serving students and local citizens.
“Our design for a new mixed-use creative development is located in the heart of Dalian in close proximity to university campuses and software parks. The existing compound comprises 6 buildings arranged in a U-shaped configuration and dating back 40 years, which formerly served as offices, warehouses, and dormitories for a chemical research institute.
Our design challenge was to find an architectural language that could unify the buildings which all have varying heights and distinct facades which have undergone previous renovation efforts. As an adaptive reuse project, the aim is to transform the compound into a destination to serve the local community and student population. Its programming consists of galleries, lifestyle retail, hospitality, cinema, theater, and office space.
The concept behind The Yard stems from a reflection on the project’s context, situated in a hidden and introverted locus within the city; a small haven of a soon to be forgotten urban memory. Our scheme completes the U-shaped figure by transforming it into an enclosed courtyard articulated by a new spatial system of walls, screens and canopies. Drawing inspiration from Chinese gardens, we celebrate the compound’s hidden nature as a contemplative space offering refuge from urban cacophony.
The continuous figure envelopes the plaza to create a sense of privacy, framing a large rock feature, and acts as a secondary facade layer which mediates between old and new. The tactile material palette is kept minimal and raw to complement the existing stucco facades.
Corten steel is used as the main surface material given its relevance as an industrial material which weathers and changes, recording the progression of time. Interior design strategy celebrates the tension between new and old; new plaster finishes juxtaposed with partially exposed brick and structural elements create a dialogue between past and present.
Client: Dalian Chuanshi Yiju Business Management - The Yard; Partners-in-charge: Lyndon Neri, Rossana Hu; Associate-in-charge: Zhao Lei; Design team: Ivy Feng, Wenbo Da, Christine Chang, Siyu Chen, Susana Sanglas, Feiteng Feng, Haiou Xin, Ziyang Lin, Lyuqitiao Wang, Greg Wu; Architecture design: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office; Interior design: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office; Consultants: LDI: Zhongdi Design Group; Lighting: Linea Light (China); Hangzhou ROLEDS Technology; General Contractor: Dalian Qian Sheng Feng Design Engineering; Year of Completion: 2025. Photo: DONG, Runzi Zhu
