XWXZ Interior & Architecture completed the Xi’an University Student Centre as a place for socialization, studying, and other dynamic interactions in Xi’an City, China.

At the beginning of 2020, XWXZ received an invitation from BIGGER Silicon Alley to transform an abandoned school history museum of Xi’an College into a complex space for college students’ daily social interaction, study, graduation exhibition, completion and entrepreneurship.

After stripping off the “interior skin” that does not belong to it, the school history museum reveals its original appearance: a symmetrical box. A bold and interesting idea sprouted in the designer’s heart. When more boxes are combined, what kind of sparks will it create?

Working within an existing shell is always highly challenging，to consider the spatial scale and the project budget. The design needs to ensure the realization of the project function without detracting from the overall concept. Set up a mezzanine, use daylighting skylights, and build an atrium, the designer uses a series of techniques to maximize the space.

We hope to create a box “emotional hall” for young students, where they are trusted and can show themselves without care.

On one side of the grand stair along is a stage for student works, and on the other side are two “boxes” made of translucent red glass. These two red transparent boxes became the only color in the space, enclosing the connecting central stair.

The design maintains the top structure of the original building. Sunlight is spilled through the atrium to the social plaza , students like to gather here to chat .

Design: XWXZ Interior & Architecture
Photography: Shengyang Li