Nanxiaoying Heating Plant Renovation by Origin Architect

Reclaiming Industrial Memory and Igniting Urban Vitality at YueJieJinhui Park

Located in Chao Yang District, Beijing, the Nanxiaoying Heating Plant, originally constructed in the late 1980s, once stood as a central hub of energy production. After shutting down a decade ago due to stricter environmental regulations targeting coal-fired plants, the site was left in a state of ruin—its architectural memory buried beneath decay. Now, through a powerful intervention by Origin Architect, this dormant industrial landscape has been reimagined and reborn as YueJieJinhui Park—a mixed-use urban precinct integrating culture, commerce, office space, and sports facilities.

Revealing the Hidden Soul of Industry

Rather than erasing the industrial character, Origin Architect embraced the raw materiality and spatial boldness of the original buildings. Structures such as the boiler house, coal depot, and induced draft fan room, once devoid of light and vitality, have been transformed through surgical insertions and curated voids. Over 400 circular perforations have been carved into the brick facades—like architectural pupils—allowing sunlight and air to animate the once dark interiors. These openings establish a dialogue between past and present, reframing the industrial ruin through the lens of modern use.

Totems of the Industrial Past

Unlike traditional renovation approaches that overly beautify heritage, this design celebrates the coarse beauty of industrial relics. Stone dedusting towers, once buried in refuse, now rise in striking formation across the courtyard like sculptural industrial totems. Reinforced concrete columns, exposed boiler bases, and the preserved suspended coal hoppers offer visitors textured spatial anchors, each element telling stories of labor, transformation, and resilience. This architectural storytelling reconnects the community with the aesthetic and emotional legacy of a vanishing industrial era.

Spatial Journeys and Layered Narratives

A defining element of the project is its immersive circulation design. Origin Architect retained and recontextualized two original coal conveyance tunnels, evolving them into experiential spaces. A system of 15 tunnel fragments—each carrying a different temporal narrative—traverse the site, linking office clusters, cultural zones, and sports facilities. Glass walkways through high coal hoppers, perforated metal ladders scaling brick walls, and robust steel bridges crossing stone tower formations encourage active exploration and reinterpret the factory’s DNA through movement and light.

An Urban Landscape of Memory and Movement

The site strategy takes advantage of scale, contrast, and material honesty. Wide gravel trails and coarse concrete blocks serve as pathways through this new urban garden, with each architectural gesture rooted in site memory. Buildings are coated in dark red, coarse-grained finishes that shift with sunlight—echoing coal’s glow and gesturing toward both nostalgia and future optimism. By night, red lighting floods the garden canopy, a theatrical and symbolic reignition of the plant’s original fire.

A Gradual and Adaptive Urban Vision

YueJieJinhui Park is not a finished product—it’s a living urban ecosystem. By adopting a phased and organic renewal strategy, the architects have ensured that the space grows in tandem with its community. The architecture supports adaptive business models, seasonal events, and cultural programming. People are invited to walk, climb, linger, and reflect. Steel bridges crisscross overhead while pathways lead to unexpected terraces and atriums. Here, the industrial past is not erased—it is reawakened, celebrated, and allowed to evolve.

All Photographs are works of Zhi Xia