Project Name: The Yard, Dalian Cultural Center

Location: Dalian, China

Design Team: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

Total Floor Area: 4631 m²

Completion: 2025

Photography: DONG Image, Runzi Zhu

Feature:

Project - Neri&Hu Design and Research Office completed a striking adaptive reuse project in the heart of Dalian, transforming urban industrial heritage through innovative architectural language and thoughtful site integration. The Yard, Dalian Cultural Center converts a 40-year-old chemical research institute compound into a vibrant cultural destination, demonstrating the perfect synthesis of traditional industrial architecture with contemporary design thinking.

The compound is strategically positioned near university campuses and software parks, this 4631-square-meter complex captures the innovative spirit of adaptive reuse while paying homage to the region's industrial memory. The project's most distinctive feature lies in its continuous weathering Corten steel system that transforms the original U-shaped building configuration into an enclosed courtyard space, creating a new spatial order through a series of walls, screens and canopies.

Neri&Hu's ingenious design solution unifies 6 existing buildings with varying heights and distinct facades. The architects employed Corten steel as the primary surface material, chosen for its industrial relevance and capacity to record the passage of time through weathering processes. This material strategy creates a secondary facade layer that mediates between existing stucco facades and transformed interior spaces, generating architectural poetry through new-old dialogue.

The compound's programming encompasses galleries, lifestyle retail, hospitality, cinema, theater, and office space. The former workers' dormitory has been converted into office space, while a small library positioned near the entrance serves the public and surrounding university community. Segmented yet continuous spaces create natural narrative pauses within the circulation path, allowing each functional area to shine within the broader cultural narrative.

Most notably, the project transforms what was once an introverted parking lot into a contemplative plaza centered around a large rock feature, drawing inspiration from Chinese garden design principles. This demonstrates how contemporary adaptive reuse can push the boundaries of urban renewal possibilities while respecting historical memory.

Design Team - Founded in 2006 by principals Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu in Shanghai, China, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office has established itself as a pioneering force in contemporary Asian architectural practice, consistently bridging rigorous design methodology with cultural innovation technologies. With headquarters in Shanghai, the firm has established itself as a comprehensive interdisciplinary consultancy providing professional design services across diverse building typologies throughout China and the broader international region.

Lyndon Neri, a graduate of University of California, Berkeley (Bachelor of Architecture) with a Master's degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design, co-leads the practice with principal Rossana Hu (Bachelor of Architecture from Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan, and Master of Architecture from Princeton University), bringing international academic background to their work. The Neri&Hu name reflects the foundational philosophy of achieving design excellence through cross-cultural collaboration------a principle that manifests throughout their comprehensive project methodology.

The firm's design philosophy centers on thorough investigation of diverse building typologies, with particular emphasis on material expression and spatial innovation. This approach synthesizes global perspectives with localized sensibilities, yielding significant works from adaptive reuse projects to contemporary cultural institutions that demonstrate continuous advancement of place-responsive architecture that breaks through in both cultural heritage and modern functionality.

Neri&Hu's mastery of new-old architectural language integration systems and material dialogue methodologies, along with applications of advanced adaptive reuse techniques, underscores their contribution to China's evolving architectural discourse. Their recent work on The Yard project exemplifies their persistent pursuit of pushing design boundaries while respecting historical contexts------positioning them as thought leaders in contemporary cross-cultural architectural practice.

Neri&Hu maintains headquarters in Shanghai with a vibrant team composed of international collaborators from around the globe, speaking over 30 languages and contributing to the firm's continuously evolving design discourse. This multicultural structure enables the firm to address complex architectural challenges with global consciousness and localized understanding, establishing Neri&Hu as an important contributor to contemporary architectural creation in China and beyond.