Ying Galley’s new location is inside a yard surrounded by two story buildings. Between the yard wall and the buildings there is an ally (28m * 3-3.6m). The ally was for outside maintenance, the landlord added a roof to it and closed it with a door at each end to yield more rental spaces.

Cao Chang Di is an art zone near 798 art factory. A mixture of studios, galleries, shops and restaurants is settled here in a combined texture of masonry buildings and light steel glass additions.

The lease of the space is five years.  The art district located at city periphery such as Cao Chang Di is under constant transformation as a result of fast paced Chinese urbanization. Many galleries and studios have to change their spaces several years due to rental increase or demolition of buildings when land use policy changes. Under such conditions, the construction cost to be limited around 1000 RMB/㎡.

The design intended to make a place where art and people interact, a bridge that links art and life. Instead of remaining inside the yard, the gallery volume was brought out to the street. Since the yard wall must be kept intact, it was sandwiched with interior wall and an exterior layer of poly-carbonate panels that is lightweight and economical. To increase its durability and achieve the desired visual quality, reflective membrane was applied to poly-carbonate panels at back, giving the front surface a metallic look in distance. The same panels continue into other exterior surfaces of the gallery inside yard, so that a new volume grows out of the existing physical context yet also forms contrast to it.