Within a single architectural chassis are numerous versions concealed from the viewer’s eye—intermediate stages barely resembling the final form. From structural frameworks and scaffoldings securing the negative shape of the building to concrete shells that then enshroud them, a dramatic transformation occurs. This holds especially true for contemporary architecture, owing to the modern construction systems and the spectrum of shapes they yield and camouflage. Waste becomes inextricable to contemporary building practices, with copious amounts of components and materials discarded, recycled or hidden deep in the final product. SpActrum, an architectural design practice based in Shanghai, Beijing and London, closely observes this neglect and addresses it in its own office and exhibition space in Shanghai, China.

In their office, the Chinese architects harness the ‘behind-the-scenes forces’ and reuse abandoned materials from their construction site as surface materials. The building mediums such as firebricks and moulds assume new forms and functionalities, permeating the everyday lives of the designers and visitors alike. Abandoned and recycled matter conspicuously adorns the furniture, finishes and other objects in the interior design, almost as if paying homage to the discreet limbs that fortify the office design.

Since its inception in 2012, SpActrum, under the leadership of Yan Pan, Zhen Li and Yimeng Tang, has evolved to become a core participant in China’s architectural fabric, its ongoing social changes and rapid urbanisation. The architects interweave their global vision with cross-disciplinary knowledge to carry out in-depth explorations of architecture. Through the years, they honed their practice as ‘Discrete Architecture’, a reflection of the heterogeneous experiences of today’s world.

When the architects closely analysed how a construction site develops and shapeshifts, they noticed the ‘double neglect’ of architects in the situation. Firstly, as stated in the architects’ official release, “The failure to incorporate this state of constant change into metaphysical thinking as a generator of formal language.” Secondly, “The loss of the ability to understand the materiality of materials, to investigate the physical tendencies of the materials themselves, and to adjust and guide the generation of form which was possible in the Classical period due to the immediacy of the building process and the oneness of the builder and the designer whose is adjusting and guiding the ability of form generation during construction procedures.”

In 2019, SpActrum Architects started to visit the sites of their large-scale projects in China, experiencing construction under the contemporary building system. Upon observing the mentioned double neglect, they wanted to address the general numbness in the architectural industry. “Due to constant form changing of the site, the components, which are essential to the construction, do not appear in any public view,” reads the official release. Hence, when the SpActrum office changed locations, the team confronted this oversight with their new office architecture.

Several materials sourced from construction sites delineate the interiors of the office design. Moulds and metal or plastic modelling tools for shaping concrete, for instance, are revived as furniture stands. Similarly, firebricks, architectural ceramics that need to be hardened and fired in a hearth protected by refractory bricks, morph into supports for furniture designs. On bench worktops, one can notice the use of GMT pallets. Serving as fire-resistant pallets in the sintering of machine-made bricks, these refractory fibre slabs take on a marble-like appearance when resin-coated.

Serving both the formwork and reinforcement of concrete floors, floor-bearing plates are mass-produced in factories through welding. These components possessing significant structural capacity are used to support bench worktops and display table tops. Burlap sacks, originally packaging for transporting raw goods, once filled and sewn, morph into screens and space dividers.

The construction process, with its constantly emerging and withering forms, offers a unique opportunity to rethink how architects engage with the physical and conceptual aspects of building. SpActrum Architects’ approach not only reintroduces the forgotten elements of the architectural journey into the discourse but also challenges the prevailing detachment from materiality and the nature of construction. Through mindful reuse, the architects underline the cyclical nature of the building process and foster a deeper awareness of the materials and methods that shape our built environment—calling for architects and the public to reconsider their relationship with the forces that bring buildings to life.