In China, the Jinxing Miners’ Canteen is Renovated by Aurelien Chen

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The main hall at the renovated Jinxing Miners Canteen

The main hall at the renovated Jinxing Miners Canteen

Just a several limited many years ago, the Jinxing Miners’ Canteen was in a state of disrepair: The ceiling experienced all but collapsed, the wood was rotting and the whole thing needed significantly extra than a fresh new coat of paint. Its restoration was the fantastic obstacle for French architect Aurelien Chen, who specializes in cultural and renovation assignments.

Initially developed in the 1970s, the canteen (and the adjacent workplaces made by German architects in 1912) the moment served a group of coal miners. The new iteration by Chen is a lively cultural space, full with a literary café, library, exhibition spaces, bar, cafe and theatre.

Exterior view of the newly renovated canteen by Aurelien Chen

While the building was in lousy issue, it experienced excellent bones: Its attribute “Red Era” style served as the commencing stage for Chen’s redesign. The inside also showcased typical factors of Western architecture in China, such as a flower-formed ceiling rose whose kind drove the style and design of the most important hall. But the real pièces de resistance are the arched doorways and vaulted basement, which ended up uncovered for the duration of the development section.

Jinxing Miners’ Canteen prior to renovation

The colours, materials and furnishings of the “Red Era” have been reinterpreted to modernize the inside. In the major corridor, a flora-influenced set up will take centre phase below the gabled wood roof. The multifunctional room can be made use of as an data desk, exhibition area, rest place, phase or for roundtable dialogue. The surrounding furnishings acquire right after the centrepiece’s organic form, influenced by the present gentle fixtures’ concentric circles with integrated bookshelves to reduce muddle in the open thought space.

The main hall at Jinxing Miners Canteen by Aurelien Chen

Expertly marrying existing and new features, the bar is separated from the key corridor by a black steel mesh folding screen. The building’s concrete partitions, painted with slogans from the “Red Era” in Chinese people, guidance the bar, which repurposes the canteen counter from the unique creating. The graphic black and white checker-patterned tile ground nods to the space’s initial finishes, even though vibrant eco-friendly counter stools and a partition wall designed of red and yellow perforated steel panels include a pop of colour.

Jinxing Miners’ Canteen prior to renovation
The bar space at the Jinxing Miners' Canteen by Aurelien Chen
The bar space at the Jinxing Miners' Canteen by Aurelien Chen

On the other aspect of the partition, the restaurant strikes an fully distinctive tone. Listed here, loaded hues of navy and brass impart a high-class sense, whilst the dimpled metallic ceiling bounces light all-around the place. To more emphasize the archways learned in the design section, Chen mimicked these varieties in the restaurant’s booth alcoves, also manufactured of black steel mesh.

The restaurant space at the Jinxing Miners' Canteen by Aurelien Chen

Down below, a minimize out in the checkered ground, coated with glass, lets website visitors to peer down the unique staircase into the basement, visually linking the two levels. In this room, Chen selected the route of minimum intervention, embracing the historic vaulted framework to create cozy studying nooks and exhibition spaces.

Vaulted basement featuring reading nooks by Aurelien Chen
Vaulted basement featuring reading nooks by Aurelien Chen

An arched Corten steel quantity on the façade now contains the new staircase, whilst blue metallic ornaments have been extra to the other openings to unify the constructing with its historic neighbours. Initiated by the nearby government’s Sustainable Enhancement Plan, the Jinxing Miners’ Canteen renovation sorts aspect of the City and Rural Scheduling and Style Institute of CSCEC’s new learn program for the site. Presented just just one yr to style and design and finish the project, Chen’s delicate — and efficient — redesign features a window into the past, even though building a place that serves the local community in the present.

Exterior view of the renovated canteen building by Aurelien Chen
Blue ornamented windows at Jinxing Miners Canteen by Aurelien Chen

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