Set in the southeast corner of Tongji University, the Sino-French Centre fits into a dense campus fabric that has developed since the university was founded in 1907. With its east side facing busy Siping Road, its north almost touching the existing Xuri Pavilion, and its west addressing the Monument of Martyrs and a large classroom building, the Centre must negotiate a number of different conditions. In addition, the university wanted to preserve many of the beautiful trees on the site. Atelier Z+, a young Shanghai firm established in 2002 by Zhang Bin and Zhou Wei, responded to these challenges by designing a building that zig-zags its way around the site, creating outdoor spaces that weave trees and neighboring buildings into its sphere of influence without overpowering them
Inspired by the mission of the centre to promote cooperation and cultural exchange between China and France, Atelier Z+ developed a “hand-in-hand” scheme that juxtaposes forms, materials, and functions. Instead of blurring or masking differences, the architects celebrated them. In doing so, they created a centre that reads as two buildings—one clad in Cor-ten steel and the other in precoated cement panels, one with a sharply angled profile, the other with a flat roof. The rusting orange wing houses mostly college classrooms and lecture halls, while the gray-cement wing provides space mostly for offices.
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