Overall design improvement of the administrative building

The Administrative Building, a 1958 landmark on the central axis of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts’ Changgang Campus, has long served as a functional and symbolic core, with its ground floor acting as a key circulation hub. Having witnessed the evolution of the academy and embodying its collective memory, the building underwent a comprehensive renovation in 2023 to mark the institution’s 70th anniversary.

The redesign addressed critical spatial constraints: low ceilings, poor natural light, restrictive doorways, and visual confinement. Guided by the principles of the 2015 Central Urban Work Conference—which advocated innovative planning while preserving architectural “genes”—the project retained essential features such as the central arched doorway while revitalizing its aesthetic. The aim was to achieve elegance, visual translucency, and pristine clarity through the strategic implantation and integration of coherent design elements.

Key interventions included a mirrored ceiling system to expand perceived height and reflect light, thereby enhancing brightness and depth. The main doorway was emphasized as a ceremonial arch, with adjacent walls sloped to visually widen the passage. A unified material palette of white ceramic paint and alloy steel cladding created a luminous, continuous environment, complemented by integrated cool-white LED lighting that ensures daytime clarity and evokes evening solemnity.

This renovation seamlessly merged heritage with innovation, reinforcing the arch as a historic symbol while introducing a contemporary language of sloped reveals, reflective surfaces, and cohesive materiality. The resulting design not only resolved prior spatial limitations but also established a replicable visual system for the future modernization of the building’s other floors.