Junshan Cultural Center by Neri & Hu completes

The architects worked with the existing structure’s courtyard typology to create a clubhouse and sales suite.

(Image credit: Pedro Pegenaute)

When Beijing-based architects Neri & Hu were invited to create a new clubhouse and sales centre in the Miyun Reservoir region outside Beijing, they were introduced to a site including an existing, donut-shaped structure, rich greenery and views of the nearby undulating mountain ranges and meandering rivers. This idyllic spot became the home of the new Junshan Cultural Center.

Working with the existing structure's traditional Chinese courtyard typology, the team composed two interlocking journeys through the re-imagined building, one for each of its uses. Different volumes were arranged in a complex and clad in warm-toned wood pattern aluminium panels against a brick facade. Meanwhile, traditional gold brick tiles line floors in the landscaping, as well as the interior ‘in-between' spaces.

Image of a landscape with large buildings among trees, lawns, water and mountains

Inside, the structure features a 100-person multi-purpose hall, a business lounge and bar, a library, a children’s reading room, a private function room, a family media room, a red-wine and cigar lounge bar and a rooftop deck; all are available to the club's members. Meanwhile, a fully operational sales suite occupies a discrete part of the building.

An art gallery with its sculpted ceiling is one of the project's most dramatic rooms – though Neri & Hu's subtle, minimalist touch and signature use of tactile surfaces and natural materials are evident throughout. At the same time, all areas feature carefully placed openings that frame the striking surrounding natural scenery that connects the building unequivocally to its locale.

Junshan Cultural Center China - a wood and brick structure

Junshan Cultural Center looking out on to a courtyard with trees

Junshan Cultural Center lobby with white ceiling and walls and black floor

Junshan Cultural Center interior with black seating and carpet and tiled floors

Junshan Cultural Center sitting area with sofa, chairs and coffee table

Junshan Cultural Center multifunctional room with red chairs and tiled floor

INFORMATION

neriandhu.com

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).