As Shenzhen, China, continues to grow and expand, the city is also witnessing the construction of futuristic and modern architectural designs that herald the arrival of a new generation of internationally trained Asian architects. The Excellence Century Centre showroom stands as testament to this bold new vision and the working environments of the future.

Established in 1983, company name, KSR Architects, represents the first letter of each company founder - Koski, Solomon and Ruthven.
KSR Architects specialise in residential, commercial, public buildings and master planning.

The Excellence Century Centre showroom concept is the visionary design of KSR Architects Director, Sonny Chen Hone-Long and his team. Born in Taiwan, Chen studied at the University of Kent in Canterbury, United Kingdom, prior to his five-year appointment as Associate at KSR International (UK) Design Consultants Ltd, where he oversaw the firm’s major projects in the United Kingdom. Recognising the many future opportunities in Asia, Chen in 2004, convinced the founders of KSR Architects to explore the Asian market and set up a branch office in Shenzhen. Raised in Taiwan, Chen has a unique appreciation for both Asian and Western cultures as reflected in his futuristic designs.

Scheduled for completion late 2009, the pre-construction Excellence Century Centre showroom has more than achieved its goal, proving an irresistible drawcard to potential Excellence Century Centre tenants, but also members of the general public curious to explore the showroom’s creative and eye-catching interior.

Incorporating an area of 655 m2, the Excellence Century Centre showroom captures KSR Architect’s vision of interior commercial spaces of the future as well demonstrating a truly creative use of space. The concept for the showroom is based upon the depiction of time, where the passageway represents a time-line and additional elements create a three-dimensional space resulting in a spiralled layering of inter-connected passageways. (see figure 1)

Modern and stylish, yet sustainable and environmentally friendly, Chen’s design also incorporates energy saving features as currently promoted by the PRC government.

“I wanted to create something that incorporated openness and light, while also being environmentally friendly and sustainable with a truly organic feeling,” said Chen. “The traditional square office space does not maximise the use of available space or features such as natural light, which also promote energy savings, a more relaxed and harmonious working environment.”

“The simplicity and modernness of the style creates a different approach to what a sales office is expected to be and creates a new experience for visitors exceeding the usual expectations of what showroom is.”

The rings represent a time tunnel approach. Varying in size in terms of height and width, the design utilises lightweight materials and with soft lighting seemingly blend into the ceiling. KSR also incorporated the Chinese concept of Ying and Yang into the design to further illustrate a more varied use of the space.

Of course the design of the showroom was not without its difficulties. Chen wanted the showroom to make an impact and draw in the public into the building, however, he also required the use of unique materials not readily available in the market and some manufacturers being unable to produce them because of technical difficulties.

Also, due to the organic shape and irregular size of the time tunnel ring, it could not be mass-produced and sections had to be individually made from plywood with lights hidden beneath a fine layer of PVC skin.

Chen also felt that a straight time-tunnel would not emphasise the creative use of the exhibition space, hence incorporating the concept of Ying and Yang to illustrate multifunctional use of the space. (figure 2)

The glass floor also imbues feeling of floating, with black pebbled rendering the floor being almost invisible. The diamond shaped ceiling is also designed to reflect the external elevation and the company logo, further promoted with the inclusion of unobtrusive lighting.

Another design challenge related to the huge column used due to the height of the building (250 metres). The solution was to minimise the impact of width of the column by incorporating circular stainless steel cladding around it, allowing distorted reflections of the surrounding area to distract people through this seemingly invisible effect.

While unique in design, the Excellence Century Centre showroom reflects the future use of commercial spaces and the increasing demand for sustainable design and energy saving features. The use of natural lighting combined with the organic features of walls and passageways further promotes a feeling of spaciousness that also maximises the functionality of dedicated areas, further promoted with modern, colourful furniture throughout.

The design of Excellence Century Centre is just the one example the unique, sustainable and environmentally friendly designs conceived by a new generation of young Asian architects such as Chen.