Yueji Architecture | Ciqikou Service Center: from public to public

Ciqikou Service Center, which integrates multiple functions such as service, office, exhibition and leisure, stands tall among the mountains and rivers, and in the midst of the city, and its exploration of the return of public value - pouring humanistic care to the grassroots of society, integrating diversified and comprehensive service functions, and realizing the shared appeal of multiple themes - from the public to the public.

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preface

Under the background of advocating the construction of a service-oriented government, with the change of public demand and the change of government role, building types such as civic centers, convenience service centers, and administrative and cultural centers have emerged. As an open administrative service facility, government service buildings are not only the external window for the government to carry out related business, but also the spatial link connecting public life, which integrates multiple functions such as services, office, exhibition, and leisure, and at the same time implies the possibility of stimulating the endogenous power of the city. Rooted in the rolling mountains, the Ciqikou Service Center, from the time it calmly stood in the busy city, told its exploration of the return of public value - pouring humanistic care to the grassroots of society, integrating diversified and comprehensive service functions, and realizing the shared demands of multiple subjects.

▲Ciqikou Service Center standing between landscapes, ancient towns and city wells Chang © Wenyu

Venue: Where cities, communities and nature meet

Ciqikou Service Center is an important place for internal office and external services of Ciqikou Management Committee (street), which integrates services, office, display, communication and other functions, and will also become an "urban living room" open to citizens in the future. The site is located in the core area of Shapingba District, which is an important traffic node on the east side of Ciqikou Ancient Town, and is hidden in the north of Qingshan and is the former site of Phoenix Mountain and silk spinning factory warehouse; Adjacent to the water to the south is the Qingshuixi Park under construction.

▲The complex natural and human environment © around the site Tian Qi

▲City fireworks © around the site Tian Qi

On one side is the mountain space shrouded in greenery and streamside, and on the other hand, the traces of the past life are condensed. How to portray an appropriate and appropriate architectural image under limited site conditions; How to create a comfortable indoor and outdoor space on the basis of meeting functional needs; How to stimulate the diversified experience and open spirit of architecture under the premise of adapting to the surrounding environment is a topic throughout the project.

Architecture in dialogue © with the environment PrismImage

Topic: Implicit interweaving in complex environments

As a former porcelain town and the birthplace of industry, artificial traces and natural scenery have survived here, intertwined into material carriers that record the rise and fall of the site. The original characteristics of the site are not only questions that need to be answered, but also often contain many answers that can be referenced, which in turn become the entry point and breakthrough point in the design.

▲Layered platform and multi-entrance © Yueji building on the mountain

▲The volume of the five-story building © integrated into the mountain Chang Wenyu

Faced with the constraints of land use and function, we wanted the building to stand on the mountain in a stretched posture and dialogue with it rather than the huge volume of the whole. As a result, the service center is divided into three parts vertically to respond to various environmental demands: the stepped base integrated into the mountain in the lower part and the heavy rough stone wall deconstruct part of the volume, and the five-storey building is looked at across the Qingshui Stream, without feeling tall and abrupt, which is hidden; The double-layered geometry supported by the glass body in the upper part stands still like a sculpture, attracting the attention of the people passing by the Church. The single-layer glass body and structural column adducted in the middle serve as a carrier, tightly tying the upper and lower parts, and from a distance, the building shape resembles a stilt building nestled on a mountain, suggesting a connection with the traditional prototype. Between the visible, the building and the mountain are intertwined, resulting in a more concise and suitable volume, so that the building can be anchored in the environment.

▲Schematic © diagram of the functions of each floor Yueji building

▲ In the distance is Ciqikou Ancient Town and Gele Mountain © PrismImage

▲ View of the building from the © church road PrismImage

Interface: Multiple responses that break through the shackles

Traditional government service buildings often emphasize their solemn role in the city with the "prototype" of axis symmetry, square stability and giant scale, while the Ciqikou Service Center tries to break through, it does not stick to the existing "iconic" image, nor blindly pursues a solemn and grand "frontal, symmetrical" composition. The interface of the north side that undertakes the Jiayuan Road is seamlessly connected with the city, and with the change of location and direction, the simple gray wall and the appropriately protruding cornice, together with the extended folding canopy, the hollow green brick wall, and the dark gray metal grille present a concave and convex visual effect. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass on the first floor, you can see the distant Gele Mountain and the cityscape slowly unfolding inside the building. At the same time, the partially concave sash avoids the disturbance of the appearance when opened, reflecting the layered thinking of the design from the whole to the details.

▲ Folding canopy and metal grille © PrismImage at the north entrance

▲Exterior office openwork green brick balustrade and recessed sash © PrismImage

▲ North entrance façade details © PrismImage

The other side of the building is very different, winding down by a folding staircase next to the Guosheng Bridge, covered with densely walled wool stone on one side, and providing an opportunity for a deep dialogue with nature on the other. The underlying base and the concise volume twisted with the mountain are welded together, nested with white boxes that protrude diagonally, and match the light glass curtain wall. The virtual and the real, the coarse and the fine, the light and the heavy, like the antagonistic relationship in literature, are not opposed to each other, but form a more organic whole.

▲ Rough stone wall © PrismImage

▲Southbound interface © PrismImage

▲ The box © on the south side that rises diagonally PrismImage

Walking: Weaving of paths for landscape viewing

If the mountain environment is the main clue to the evolution of design, then the appropriate mass space is the answer. The three-story retreat platform with an elevation of -0.15m, -5.55m, and -10.05m allows the originally homogeneous and single space to advance layer by layer in the vertical dimension, and the stairs and platforms on the east and west sides are connected to a three-dimensional continuous external viewing path.

▲Stacking and retreating © Chang Wenyu

In the meantime, people can perceive and capture the surrounding scenery, or stroll through the stairs that change with the turn of the mountain, inspiring spatial associations about the past climbing and climbing; Or stop, on the roof platform on the second floor, looking south against the railing, feel the breeze blowing, as if wrapped in nature; Or gaze, on the overhead platform shrouded in the setting sun, the ancient town jumps in front of you in a stretched posture. The multi-level path system and changing scenery not only create an intriguing spatial mood, but also provide people living in the busy city with a different viewing experience away from the hustle and bustle.

▲Winding down the folding staircase © Chang Wenyu

This organic path system not only constructs the spatial feeling of changing scenery, but also takes into account the rationality of the moving line. Crowds can reach four different levels through the outdoor terrace: the open entrance plaza provides clear guidance for the flow of people on the Monastery Road; The folding ladder connects the crowds coming through the Guosheng Bridge, using the retreat platform to divert visitors to the first to minus two floors; The overhead mass on the west side serves as both the entrance to the office area and a sheltered place for passers-by to stay and rest.

▲Along the entrance © of Laodong Road Chang Wenyu

▲ The overhead mass on the west side and the protruding balcony © PrismImage

Located in the undulating environment, the Ciqikou Service Center not only presents the natural trend of living in the mountains, but also deliberately introduces the landscape and light from near and far to create a flowing indoor and outdoor public space, which is not only a continuation of the design's respect for mountain treatment techniques, but also a true expression of the building's deep response to the site.

▲ Organic integration © of viewing path and traffic flow PrismImage

Intention: An open platform belonging to citizens

In recent years, various comprehensive and "one-stop" administrative service organizations have emerged, and their focus has gradually shifted from excessive attention to image to consideration of multi-functional needs, and the design of Ciqikou Service Center is the practice of this concept. Compared with the deliberate grand square, people's spontaneous behavior and city life are more moving, so we hope that the building can serve as a new chapter in public life, where diverse civic activities can be written.

▲Citizens © strolling between the retreats PrismImage

▲ Citizens © practicing in the morning on the landscape steps PrismImage

▲ PrismImage, a service center © integrated into city life

The multiple outdoor public spaces clearly indicate the main purpose of opening the Ciqikou Service Center to the public, and encourage the exploration of surrounding citizens with a more cordial and peaceful attitude: the step space and roof platform at the east end are continuously intertwined, which can be used by citizens to exercise and gather in the morning in their leisure time, and also serve as a stage for watching movies and displays; The cascading retreats attract residents who walk along the waterfront on summer evenings, bringing them unexpected encounters and conversations during the roam; Children from school hide and chase by the stairs of the roof deck... For the citizens living here, Ciqikou Service Center is essentially more like a daily activity place and an open service platform, which carries the vision of public life, tells the integration into daily opportunities, internalizes into an inclusive and diverse spiritual anchor, and then changes people's understanding of government architecture.

▲ View of the building from the © nearby street PrismImage

Overlapping: Space creation of three-dimensional composites

Looking back at the design, the external shape and space relationship have long laid the groundwork for the internal functional layout, and the main functions of the service center are arranged in layers according to the strength of the common attributes to maximize space efficiency. The public service hall and the party and mass service center on the first to negative two floors are arranged facing the waterfront, and the bright and spacious hall makes the clerks not confined to the closed office cubicle. The independent lecture hall on the east mezzanine has been sunk (-1.50m) to dissolve the height difference change of the external site, and the spatial transformation between the first and negative floors is completed through the gentle folding staircase in the northeast corner, which not only breaks the limitation of horizontal stratification, but also produces a spatial effect like a dramatic turn.

The nearly 7m-high trapezoidal atrium dominates the office space on the second and third floors, and the continuous glass interface is like a frame open to the sky, capturing light and landscape without reservation into the interior, combined with the opening of the sash, creating a comfortable and healthy energy-saving indoor environment. The three-story cloister surrounds the atrium to connect the functional areas, forming a relaxed and orderly internal transportation system; The partially overhung conference room interrupts the aisle on the plane, further bringing a sense of winding space; The large staircase on the west side is the best place to relax. Here, people can traverse, stay, and interact, and these undefined complex spaces respond to the spatial demands associated with managing the office, which in turn encourages people to explore more possibilities of space.

Breaking the problem: breaking through the spatial practice of "prototypes"

When we received the design commission, we were amazed at the complexity of the contradictions that constrain each other in the site, and we looked forward to truly creating an inclusive and humane service place for the public. Several on-site surveys, on the mountainous waterfront, feel the changes in spring and summer, and record the daily life of the city. Ciqikou Service Center is our attempt to break through the "prototype" of traditional government buildings, it is not a towering and prominent landmark building, on the contrary, it is a real, encouraging citizen participation, the most ordinary grassroots government service complex, under the premise of not exceeding the unilateral construction price of similar buildings, comprehensive, convenient, daily and other characteristics are vividly reflected in this building open to all citizens.

After the design and construction of the Ciqikou Service Center for two years was put into use, it not only cooperated with the street to carry out daily office governance, but also continuously contributed to the development of public life, where multiple meanings such as environment and architecture, service and life, and public and public converged and superimposed into a rich picture. Just as Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, proposed "return to the thing itself" - return to the function and attributes of the service center itself, the words "service" and "public" are as they are.

Project drawings

Project Name: Ciqikou Service Center Design Unit: Chongqing Yueji Architectural Design Office, Chongqing He Fang Urban Planning and Design Co., Ltd. Contact Email: [email protected] Project Design: 2020.03—2020.08Year of Completion: 2022.03 Lead Architects: Tian Qi, He Biao, Li Jun Design Team: Wan Liangqing, Li Tao, Dan Chenghu, Xie Chengping, Xu Xiangdong, Yuan Wenguang, Wu Meng, Wang Yuedong, Chen Wei, Weng Yuzhan (internship) construction general contractor: Chongqing Construction Seventh Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. Project address: Chongqing Shapingba District Jiaoyuan Road Building area: 10393.20㎡ Photography copyright: PrismImage, Chang Wenyu, Tian Qi Project owner: Chongqing Xuchen Industrial Development Group Co., Ltd