OLE SCHEEREN UNVEILS DESIGNS FOR CHINA GUARDIAN AUCTIONS COMPANY IN BEIJING
Architect Ole Scheeren has revealed his firm’s designs for the new Beijing headquarters of the auction house China Guardian Auctions Company, according to the Wall Street Journal’s Charles Hutzler.
The building will be Scheeren’s second landmark in the Chinese capital. His first, with Rem Koolhaas, is the China Central Television building, whose iconic shape has earned itself the nickname da kucha, or “big boxer shorts.” Many thought the CCTV building was a specific target of a recent speech by president Xi Jinping that denounced China’s construction boom of “weird buildings.”
Scheeren’s new building has somber tones, and features porthole-like windows. Its upper half—a glass cube—has a hollow center that makes way for a courtyard. The upper floors will contain restaurants and a 120-room hotel, while the lower stories will have exhibition space and offices.
