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    Atelier38 reworks furniture store into home for Czech Radio

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    Architecture studio Atelier38 has converted a former furniture store in Olomouc, Czech Republic, into a broadcast centre arranged around a light-filled atrium. 

    Atelier38 refurbished the building, which was built in 1911, to give it the necessary technical and acoustic fixtures needed for a modern radio broadcaster.
    The original building dates from the early 20th centuryThe Czech Radio broadcast centre occupies a narrow plot in the middle of Olomouc and is characterised by its exposed reinforced concrete frame and long skylight window than can both be seen in the cavernous central atrium that spans four storeys.
    Throughout the 20th century, the building remained a furniture store, but the skylight was closed off with mineral wool to keep the building insulated.
    The atrium’s pitched skylight floods the interior with natural lightThe studio reopened this central atrium and made it the heart of the building. It added additions that highlighted the existing concrete structure to avoid detracting from the original fabric of the building.

    “We tried hard to preserve the visible supporting structure and not to destroy the integrity and sculptural quality of the central space,” said Atelier38.
    Original balustrades line the walkways and that span the void in the atriumA monochromatic scheme was chosen for both the circulatory and private areas to unite the interior – regardless of function and era – and highlight the building’s unique original structural details.
    Glass partition walls allow the ample natural light from the atrium to reach into the side rooms, which contain meeting and conference spaces, studios, offices and editing rooms as well as archives and storage facilities.
    Original details sit beside modern conveniences”The shape and proportions of the broadcast studios, control room, and self-service studios arose from the possibility of building into the existing skeleton structure,” the studio explained.
    “[The installed elements] form an artistic technological dialogue with the original supporting structure without suppressing it.”
    Recording studios are equipped with audiovisual and acoustic technologyThe studio also upgraded the thermal, sanitary and electrical services needed to meet contemporary standards and to ensure the smooth running of broadcasts.
    Other adaptive reuse projects published on Dezeen include a retreat for professionals inside an abandoned girls’ school by Artchimboldi and Emma Martí, and a former prison in Berlin converted into a hotel by Grüntuch Ernst Architects.
    The photography is by BoysPlayNice.

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      Chengdu reveals “futuristic” stations for its first fully-automated metro line

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      J&A and Sepanta Design have created a series of station interiors based on forms and patterns found in nature for the first unmanned metro line in Chengdu, China.Designed to provoke emotion among their visitors, the 13 stations feature fluid forms and cellular patterns informed by the local tradition of silk weaving as well as the flora and fauna found in surrounding parks.

      Above: Jincheng Avenue Station features lilac-coloured columns. Top image: Cuqiao Station is one of 13 stations designed by J&A and Sepanta Design
      The fully‐automatic, 22-kilometre line has been under construction since 2016 and forms an extension to the existing Chengdu Metro system.
      Called Line 9, it runs between the southeast and northwest of the Sichuan Province’s capital and is the first unmanned metro line in the west of China. Instead of drivers, Chengdu’s new trains communicate with each other using the 5G mobile network.

      Four “standard artistic stations” feature a similar design

      All of the line’s 13 stations are designed by Shenzhen firm Jiang & Associates Design (J&A) in collaboration with London-based studio Sepanta Design.
      According to the designers, their ambition for the project was to create spaces that would “entirely change people’s expectations” of what metro stations could be like.

      Four “feature stations” including Cuqiao, each have a unique concept
      “Chengdu metro stations are not going to be merely points of transit,” said Reza Esmaeeli, founder of Sepanta Design and Design Director at Chetwoods Architects. “They are going to be memorable spaces that offer their passengers an artistic and futuristic expression of their own culture.”
      The stations’ interiors were designed to reflect points of local, cultural interest, with the line passing through the birthplace of Sichuan silk and embroidery culture as well as a number of urban ecological parks.

      The station interiors are designed to look futuristic
      The designers divided the 13 stations into two categories: feature stations and standard artistic stations.
      The four feature stations — Incubation Park, Jincheng Avenue, Cuqiao and Jitouqiao — each have a unique concept, reflecting their local environment.

      The design for Jincheng Avenue Station nods to lotus flowers
      These themes are explored through distinct colours and materials, alongside bespoke furniture.
      At Jincheng Avenue Station, for example, the ticket hall is illuminated by curved, lilac-coloured columns reminiscent of lotus flowers in a nearby lake, while lights that resemble silkworm cocoons are installed across walkway ceilings at Cuqiao Station.

      Cuqiao Station’s lighting was designed to resemble silkworm cocoons
      The other nine “standard artistic stations” have a more uniform design, based on an abstract interpretation of embroidery techniques.
      These techniques are translated into flowing, continuous lines and patterns made up of interconnecting, cell-like forms, which are repeated across ceilings, walls, floors, columns and furniture.

      The standard artistic stations are colour-coded

      Wuchazi Bridge creates “infinite meandering path” over river in Chengdu

      Chengdu’s Line 9 follows in the footsteps of other Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, which introduced driverless metro lines in 2010.
      Beijing opened its driverless Yanfan line in 2017, while Taiyuan, the largest city of Shanxi province, opened its first fully automated line just eight days after Chengdu, on 28 December last year.

      All the stations’ interiors are informed by forms found in nature
      In Hong Kong, Ponti Design Studio has created a concept for an autonomous, double-decker tram with a radial interior design that encourages a safe return to public transport after the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
      Photography is by CHAPA.

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