Set within the vibrant and fast developing area of Shanghai, this renovation project aimed to revitalize an old community building and bring a new identity to the neighbourhood. Originally being a spot for the local community gathering, then turned into a gaming center, its new function, an office space for start-up companies, has required an innovative yet rational and economical approach.The facade design is a unique form of palimpsest, a process of layering at which intersection the past meets the future. The ceramic tiles which characterize Shanghainese 80’s residential construction industry have been chiseled out while a new layer of policarbonate facade has been added to embrace an existing structure.

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The facade fenestration has been kept yet its rhythm has been decomposed by the new intervention. A single guesture that creates a unique composition and atmosphere thus awakening a dormant street corner. A project name and theme comes from the previous function of the interior space which was run as a gaming center. The design itself can be also associated to one of the first arcade games ever made - Space invaders. At ceirtain point, the new building outlook is silently invading a surrounding space by providing a glowing backdrop or simply being a “stage of life”.