Sociable seaside office offers flexible spaces

Project: Hongxing Tourism Headquarters
Award: Bronze, Workspace Interiors - Corporate Offices (5,000 - 10,000 SQM), 2024
Location: Qinhuangdao City, China
Architect: Woods Bagot
Client: HongXing Tourism Group

This new headquarters for cultural and tourism company HongXing spans 8,000 square metres on the shores of the Bohai Sea in China and has been designed to merge seamlessly with the coastal landscape while embracing the company's vibrant culture.

A thoughtfully designed lobby serves as a gateway to the five-storey building, seamlessly connecting various areas. A multifunctional open space provides a panoramic vista of the natural surroundings while the bright and translucent atrium acts as a focal point, connecting zones and facilitating a harmonious flow between public and private realms.

The organic yet formal integration of outdoor and indoor spaces symbolises the company's commitment to quality, environmental stewardship, social engagement, and human-centered experiences. Radiating brightness and clarity, the overall design fosters an energetic and wholesome experience. Embracing the concept of nature and openness, bringing the outdoors inside, blurring the boundaries between the natural and built environments.

The judges praised the projects "clean lines", "minimal materials" and "flexibility in workspace design" particularly "components that serve multiple purposes, like the connector pavilion".

They added: "The distribution of collaborative spaces, such as meeting rooms visible from the distribution area, is a good way to foster interaction."

Design highlights

The integration of the "timber meeting boxes", framed meeting rooms, around the atrium connect to its natural light and overlook the social collaboration and community space below. These include a grand pavilion staircase that creates a sense of community connection for the workplace by blending work and play. Open-plan workspaces foster communication, collaboration and creativity while transparency between meeting and collaboration spaces encourages spontaneous workplace interaction.