‘BUMPS in Beijing’ by SAKO Architects is an integrated project with four residential buildings, as well as a commercial building. Traditionally, residential buildings in China are oriented south and north. With the increase in the density of the buildings, the traditional method causes buildings to be too close to each other and the rooms facing to the north can hardly get sunshine. ‘BUMPS in Beijing’ is rotated by 45 degrees from the north-south axis. This design provides optimum sunshine for each building and also creates a shortcut the way to the central business areas from different directions.
The residential buildings are 80 metres in height. Every two floors are set as a unit. Every unit is staggered by 2 metres horizontally, the whole of the building consists of repetitions of these units. The set-back areas are used for terraces. Interlaced black and white units highlight the concave-convex façade and show a clear lineament of the building. All the windows are one metre square. Randomly placed windows weaken the existence of all pillars and beams. Therefore, the appearance of the buildings look like stacked by lots of small black and white ‘boxes’ together.
The cities in China have been changing at tremendous speed. ‘BUMPS in Beijing’ is located in south-west Beijing where the area is under development. The purpose of this design is not to merge into surrounding circumstances, but be a ‘strong existence’ as a landmark leading the development of this area.
its aexcellent combination of design & architecture