The publishing house itself needs only three stories of space. Yet the lively real estate market in China and the high cost of land have driven the company to construct a twelve-story building and develop rental office space, conference and exhibition facilities, a hotel, restaurant, café, bookstore—even an art museum and an indoor basketball court. This hybrid use inspires and informs the architectural design: The structure is thus dissolved into three relatively independent micro-buildings. The publishing house is located on the top floor, with rental office space and commercial activities below. The spaces between the micro-buildings are open to the public and form a vertical urban garden while also serving as a fire escape. This very urban quality of the in between space pushes the edifice towards a miniature city.

Project Name: Hebei Education Publishing House Building

Location: Shijiazhuang, Hebei

Client: Hebei Education Publishing House

Architect: Atelier Feichang Jianzhu

Project Designer: Yung Ho CHANG

Project Team: DAI Changjing, LIU Xianghui, WANG Hui, WANG Zhaoming, XU Yixing, YU Lu, ZHANG Lufeng

Consultants: XU Minsheng (structural consultant)

Structure and Material: Reinforced concrete frame with partial steel frame and concrete-block walls

Building Area: 16,800 sq. meters

Cost: Approximately 37,000,000 RMB

Design Period: 2000–2001

Construction Period: 2000–2004

Popularity: 5% [?]