Red Bricks Redefined

Domani architectural concepts adapts the traditional chinese red brick to create a sustainable, cultural landmark in foshan, china.

- Michele Koh Morollo

In response to the reigning in of the real estate sector by the Chinese government, Chinese real estate developer Times China Holdings hired Guangzhou-headquartered architecture firm DOMANI Architectural Concepts to design the TIC Art Center.

The result is a thoughtfully-planned, sustainably built, multi-functional, cultural complex in the city of Foshan in Guangzhou designed to serve its community as an urban landmark.

The developers wanted the Center – which contains public showrooms, offices, sales areas, as well as a public lounge, bar, installation art spaces and a children’s zone – to have a low eco-footprint and an engaging landscape design that both locals and visitors to the city can enjoy.

Ann Yu, DOMANI’s co-founder and design director, divided the project into three parts – landscape, architecture and interior design.

The landscaping was conceived as a grand prelude to the building’s entrance and includes upper and lower-level circulation routes. Red ceramic bricks that evoke a sense of ceremony were used to create a path guiding pedestrians entering from different directions towards the building.

“The upper and lower levels of the circulation are intertwined to create a rich, multi-directional and intuitive experiential route,” says Yu.

The landscaping also includes a black gravel-paved garden and an iconic circular pond – one of the largest artificial waterscapes in Guangzhou – which has already become a tourist attraction. A viewing platform stretches into the middle of this pond, and walking along it, users can see a panorama of the building’s texturally intriguing brick façade.