The practice’s Beijing office is located in the city’s historic centre, adjacent to the Xihai Wetland Park. The building is a listed art gallery that has been carefully redeveloped by the practice to create a series of light-filled spaces for work, relaxation, exhibitions and events.
The Beijing studio provides a personalised service for clients, while facilitating the design and construction of new buildings in the region. Members of the team take breaks in the office’s scenic natural surroundings and often meet outside of work to hike together in the mountains.
Foster + Partners first started working in Beijing in 2003, after winning the Beijing Capital International Airport project. Conceived as the gateway to the city for the twenty-ninth Olympiad, the airport terminal is a symbol of its place, with a soaring aerodynamic roof and dragon-like form. In the years since, the practice has completed a number of projects in the region, including the 12-hectare Guo Rui Kingdom masterplan, which creates a mixed-use community in the heart of the Yizhuang, and the award-winning Datong Art Museum, China’s Museum of the 21st Century.
