Spatial design is to be shared, felt, cherished and inhabited. A receptive, human-centric interior design intervention, that regards occupant's comfort and seamless circulation as vital holds the power to truly anchor and elevate user experience. Carrying similar beliefs, AD Architecture has conceived the Fietser International Private Clubhouse as a paradigm in warm minimalism, restrained elegance and quiet strength, a space to pause and ponder. Situated in a financial sector in Shenzhen, this socialising venue for elites dubbed in natural and earthy tones revels in its "asymmetrical symmetry" that looks inward, to balance opposites of freedom and order, of mingling and solo contemplation.

The design goal, according to the Chinese designers, was to create a neutral, steady, and a tranquil spatial environment fostering interaction, and eventually, bringing users closer together in the largely sculptural and monolithic space. Sleek and alluring, the mostly bare aesthetic of the clubhouse is provided relief through channels of straight light, that seem to pool into, or glow ethereally from fixtures, edges and surfaces flowing and resting inside.

With cut and inserted austere geometries obscuring and uncovering the space, some scooped out, others placed, the Fietser International Private Clubhouse in China is a venue for reception and negotiation, yet also emphasises privacy in its reticent and robust being. “It is a container at first,” relays the chief designer who adheres to rationality guided by emotions, to integrate spatial functionality with personality. With every project, AD Architecture strives to create spaces that mediate a planned collision of simplicity and intricacy, birthing a space that pulls people in at first glance, letting them fraternise with it as they would like.

Indulging in a modest materiality of treated stone and dusky wood accompanied by handmade paint and wooden veneer, the Chinese design indulges in communion with its users in both, certainty and uncertainty – the uncluttered and cavernous interior design places importance on unlocking and encouraging people’s transient interactions, while its own form remains unchanging. The interplay of warm and soft, imperfect-cool and perfect-hard surfaces of the stone architecture enables guests to experience the clubhouse with all of their senses engaged.

Xie Peihe, Founder and Chief Designer of AD Architecture elaborates, "We are creating some visible illusions, including conflict between the falling and the floating, dialogue between roughness and smoothness, coexistence of freedom and order, and asymmetrical symmetry. Through these illusions, emotion and rationality complement each other in the space. What AD Architecture seeks is a kind of quietness in the bustling city, as well as harmony between opposites.”

With next to no natural light, objects and people encounter illumination in a subtle and simulated sense within the geometric design – the boxy, stretch ceiling above coincides and makes friends with the skirting lights below to illuminate the minimal design in fullness. "Light and objects are mutually dependent, both of which are neither independent systems nor opposites. Although its form cannot be altered by functions, the space plays the role of a light maker. The light plays with objects, thereby triggering some fresh spatial emotions,” he continues.

These systems of lights are contained within choreographed, cut geometries, concealed with hefty stone screens and let wild with set channels and sources, and given slight detail by the subtle, shifting textures of the surfaces they reflect on.

Away from the noise of the city, the 1,000 sqm clubhouse features spatial functions that perform inadvertently, where the congruent design lets users be, with accidental interactions and stories unfolding. "In such a harmonious space, users feel surprisingly comfortable while socialising with others,” ensures Peihe.

The three floors of the contemporary design are linked vertically by three private rooms, to ensure an optimal balance between spatial privacy and independence. The first level hosts an expansive lobby, tea room and dining room while the next focuses on an outdoor activity area, and another panoramic tea and dining room. This is followed by a bar that takes over the entire floor above.

The spatial experience inside unfolds one scene after another, like flowing frames of a theatre set. AD Architecture practices unmistakable restraint with the private clubhouse's interiors, focusing explicitly on user’s stories and experiences, as much as the curated objects and furniture design that help elevate it.

Project Details

Name: Fietser International Private Clubhouse
Location: Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Area: 1,000 sqm
Year of completion: 2022
Designer: AD ARCHITECTURE
Chief designer: Xie Peihe