01. Micro-Urban Renewal in Yulin

The “urban renewal” of Yulin seems to have emerged even before the topic gained traction in policy and architectural discourse in recent years. One of the key driving forces behind this process undoubtedly lies in the unique urban fabric of Yulin, which fosters a distinctive everyday vitality.

Unlike top-down renewal models, a large number of young entrepreneurs have gradually moved into the area, operating bookstores, cafés, new dining venues, and various lifestyle-oriented commercial spaces. Meanwhile, the government has supported this transformation through façade renovations of older buildings. Together, these forces have initiated a bottom-up mode of urban regeneration. As renewal progresses, the area continues to attract small and micro-scale businesses, forming a positive feedback loop.

This bottom-up approach implies a latent proposition: functional renewal takes precedence over formal renewal. Thus, at the end of 2023, when CLAB Architects relocated to Yulin and faced the task of transforming an aging apartment into a new office, we adopted a similar attitude—to construct function rather than decorate interiors. The project is therefore regarded as a micro-scale experiment in urban renewal at its smallest unit.

The new office is located on the fourth floor of an old residential compound built around 2000. The complex has an L-shaped layout: the two ends consist of a frame structure at the base with brick-concrete construction above, while the corner connection adopts a full-frame system—offering greater flexibility for transformation.

The office itself is a deep rectangular plan with daylight from three sides. Based on the spatial sequence from the entrance, we divided it into two juxtaposed zones:

• a smaller, square space near the entrance for public functions (exhibition, meetings),

• and a larger, better-lit square space deeper inside for internal office use.

Service spaces requiring plumbing—such as the restroom and pantry—remain aligned with the original vertical shafts of the bathroom and kitchen. These are defined by cast-in-place concrete volumes, which both articulate spatial divisions and address water-related functional requirements.

In the office area, workstations are arranged in a loop configuration. Along the south-facing windows, bookshelves and lounge seating are installed, allowing the best-lit area to become a shared space.

“Construction is Architecture” is the guiding principle of CLAB. In building our new office, we sought to directly embody this idea: from construction to use, construction becomes function, and construction becomes architecture.

Three principles were established at the outset:

Only commonly used construction materials—concrete, steel, and wood—are employed, in their raw and primary states.Simple and direct structural systems express use—eliminating decoration so that structure itself conveys aesthetics and responds to function.

Structural joints are manually assembled. All furniture is designed and built by ourselves, requiring consideration of non-professional construction feasibility, so that making becomes part of daily work and life.

We named the office RAW Office. “Raw” signifies origin and essence. RAW Office uses raw materials, direct physical labor, and unadorned structural forms to realize straightforward functional use through construction.

The entrance door consists of two welded angle-steel frames (top and bottom) as the primary structure. Threaded rods provide diagonal tension to counter long-term deformation. Steel grating panels are bolted within the frames, functioning both as security and structural bracing. An electrochromic glass panel replaces the traditional peephole.

A wide range of metal materials is used, all adhering to the principle of raw material expression:angle steel frames and municipal steel grating for the entrance door,steel plates for window systems, galvanized steel for desk structures, chrome-plated solid rods (typically used in machinery) for table legs and cabinets.