DUTS design has completed a new space of office, sports & creativity in the Huangpu district, shanghai. Located within ‘building no.8’, an old factory space, the project seeks to renovate the existing place into an office area with an indoor football field & fitness space. The studio integrates structural reinforcement and the floating office concept, providing the old plant with new vitality.

DUTS design replaced the original T-shaped, with a steel-structure-herringbone truss and removed the horizontal steel wire rope, adding a 1.7-meter indoor ceiling. Taking advantage of structural reinforcement, the architects suspended the two-story office under the roof support. A part of the underlying space functions as an open office area by subsidence with the floor elevation, while the other part serves as an indoor football stadium and recreational area. Meanwhile, the large conference room and executive office set on the second floor.

Inside, the walls are painted white, while the ground is covered with white matte glazed tiles. For visual effects, the entire second-floor office area settles against the main entrance like a hanging ‘battleship,’ with ascending stairs complementing the black perforated steel grating, dark red steel beams, and roof plank, to highlight the industrial style.

In terms of interior design, a steel table about 3m long with a hidden bottom, set in the second floor office. It takes advantage of wedge-shaped visual deviation for the façade with the steel beams hidden from the sight, so the visible place is only 6 mm thick. Furthermore, a gravity pool takes place right below the conference room, with only 150mm distance between the water surface and the stairs of the floating office.

By stepping on the first stair out of the ground, the user perceives the concept of suspension. The light on the water surface and the steel reflection are embodied within the design. The original style is retained in the façade of the building layout, with only a slim steel canopy that marks the main entrance of the entire structure. For the renovation of ‘happy pier no.8 old factory,’ the ultimate steel amount for truss transformation is 30kg/sqm with reasonable program and great economy.