last month designboom visited the offices of chinese firm studio pei zhu based in beijing, china.


pei zhu founder
image © designboom

the firm was founded in 2005 by architects pei zhu and tong wu. studio pei zhu
projects primarily explore and experiment with nature in the context of urban china.
they aim to contribute to a regional variance of contemporary architecture appropriate
to its local context.


pei zhu shows birgit lohmann (designboom's editor -in-chief) around their new studio, which they moved into  a week prior to our visit
image © designboom


model of the oct design museum, shenzen, china
image © designboom

the oct design museum, shenzen, china is a recent project of the firm. the concept is
that of a captured water droplet. during the daytime the triangular windows and skylights
perforate the naturally inspired surface in a seemingly random pattern that evokes
the scattered reflections of light from a surface of water. the building is currently under
construction.


model of the oct design museum, shenzen, china
image © designboom


model of the oct design museum, shenzen, china
image © designboom


the oct design museum, shenzen, china
image courtesy studio pei zhu


the oct design museum
image courtesy studio pei zhu


the oct design museum
image courtesy studio pei zhu


the oct design museum - interior
image courtesy studio pei zhu


different materials are used to construct architectural models
image © designboom


model of uf software building, beijing, china
image © designboom

the building consists of four branches, each is 22 meters or 24 meters wide, able to
absorb sufficient natural light and ventilation. the clearance between branches becomes
semi enclosed courtyards.


model of uf software building, beijing, china
image courtesy studio pei zhu


uf software building, beijing, china
image courtesy studio pei zhu


model of guggenheim art pavillion, abu dhabi
image © designboom

the firm has won international competitions to design the guggenheim museum,
beijing and guggenheim art pavillion, abu dhabi.

for the guggenheim art pavillion, abu dhabi studio pei-zhu created a floating building
that is a bridge from the city. the floating mass creates continuous public space at
building base providing clear view angles from the city to the park.


image © designboom


image © designboom


image courtesy studio pei-zhu


image courtesy studio pei-zhu