Aluminum Lobby at SOHO Fuxing Plaza

Shanghai, China

Photo © Dirk Weiblen

Interior Designers: AIM ARCHITECTURE

Location: 369 Fu Xing Road near Madang Road, Shanghai, China
Year: 2014

This lobby to an office building of 1200m2 is mostly made with a recycled material, AIM Architecture after the “Cork Office on the SOHO Jiarui Plaza” and “HotSpring ONESUN Spa Resort”, still aims to get a friendly environmental solution for a local developer, who is trying to achieve futuristic architecture design using new techniques and material solutions.

The main material in this lobby is the Aluminum foam presented on sheets of 2500x500mmx15mm mounted on walls and ceiling, a total of 3000m2. We use this material not painted or coated, a pure and smartly engineered aluminum foam panel with small-medium pores, which become a very sustainable material in that sense. Through an air infusion process in the aluminum is made porous and becomes a perfect material for acoustic purposes. This process results in a hard surface foam that is foldable and light, which makes it very workable material.

The aluminum foam presented as a raw material gives on first sight an even surface for walls and ceiling but when seen closer has a very rich texture, creating a lively interior surface. Its aesthetic, beautifully balances the smooth bright white in the lift lobby. The striking contrast with the bright white and the lively dark grey tints result in a stunning contemporary aesthetic.

All this together makes the lobby a powerful example of smart and contemporary architecture.