HOME OFFICE TOWER / People's Architecture Office

Home Office Tower

Beijing

2021

The Home Office Tower converts a residential building into much needed office space in the city of Tiantong Yuan, known as the “largest sleeping city in the world”.

Tiantong Yuan is the home for over 700 thousand people who make the hours-long commute back and forth to Beijing each day. The large concentration of residential only developments in Tiantong Yuan results in massive daily traffic jams on the way to downtown Beijing. During working hours, Tiantongyuan becomes a ghost town. The Home Office Tower is the first project of this type in the Tiantong Science and Technology Park. It is a target area for the city-wide Huitian Plan, which aims to provide a greater mixture of uses in this residential area though converting vacant residential buildings in to office buildings.

The conversion process involved the partial reinforcement of the original building’s structure and carving out a ring around the building core through the original residential units. Some areas were enclosed to provide shared restrooms and common areas. Additional spaces were added on the ground floor and basement levels such as shared office areas and meeting rooms. And a cafeteria, gym, market, and cafe provide much needed amenities for the surrounding community. The landscaping around the office building is designed as public space for office workers as well as local residents. Orange colored building elements and landscaping provide shade and public seating areas for rest as well as public gatherings. Lighting is incorporated into these additions to extend the period of use for these spaces into the evening. The orange additional also serve to distinguish it from surrounding residential towers and broadcast conversion from a distance.

Projects such as the Home Office Tower can drastically impact the lives of residents in Tiantongyuan. People can walk to work, have more time for meals with their families, and spend time balancing work life with exercise and entertainment. And reducing commute times and having more options for moving between places can result in a significant reduction in pollution.