IX Atelier is a leading international team of architects based in Beijing, China. Resulting of a collaboration between InkMason and Xin project, IX Atelier responds to the need of excellence in both design and project management.

The project started when IX atelier’s team decided to set up an office in Beijing. Our architects established and confirmed full project requirements through interviews with the team members. The new office had to be about flexibility, functionality and sustainability.

After considering a range of locations, the management team recommended Tuanjiehu, near to Sanlitun and just minutes away from the business center of Guomao. The building management and the adequate floor area of the location responded to flexibility requirement for IX atelier’s plan.

The project included succinct interventions to become a working space of light, air and transparency. Although the office would specifically house architects, the architects designed a multipurpose working space that simply and clearly honors the rudiments of work: vast work surfaces, massive natural light, fresh air, generous storage, and clearly individuated workstations that add up to a coherent, palpable group.

During the design development and construction documentation stages, our design and management team developed conceptual design that IX atelier approved into detailed plans, elevations, and perspective drawings, complemented by colour boards, material samples and details of furniture and fittings.

To ameliorate the practicality of the agency, our interior design team proposed to introduce a meeting room designed with glass separation walls, can be used as exhibition area, meeting room and product presentation. The community area integrates as well facilities to encourage interaction between employees: a kitchen and a large counter made of corian to provide catering.

IX atelier wants to cultivate an energized and inspiring workplace in relation to feng shui principles. We suggested to balance the positive energy by using dark timber woods for the north side and bright materials with lighting for the south side of the workspace.To contribute to sustainable design, we integrated recyclable materials as strand board for wall panels and second hand lamps provided by local suppliers.

The ancient Chinese Character “Mason”, which forms part of InkMason company logo as their core value represents a set of craftsman tools one can carry on his back inside a basket. To experience this embodiment of one’s life and experience, visitors and employees can see in display a collection of wood tools, original furniture and clocks. The space succeeds now as an open, collaborative working lab for creative design.