Sitting in Chaoyang District, Beijing,, this auditorium was first built in 1958. Nearly seventy years of use have made it a repository of memories for generations of CABR people.

Light is the guiding idea for this renovation. By weaving natural and artificial light together, we preserve the warm patina of the old building while injecting contemporary vitality, and ultimately shape the most comfortable atmospheric experience.

Maximizing natural light was our first directive. From the start we insisted on “prioritizing daylight.” Windows on the north and south walls and the clerestory side openings at the top are not decorative elements — they are the primary conduits for daylight. To use them precisely, we ran detailed simulation analyses.

Take the summer solstice as an example. From 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. we quantified the daylighting performance across different periods, hour by hour.

Ample daylight comforts the interior with a sun-warmed ambiance and, importantly, cuts down on reliance upon electric lighting. That reduction in artificial load is a concrete step toward our energy-saving and emission-reduction goals.

But daylight has limits. Some corners remain unreachable, and there artificial light becomes the indispensable supplement. Our strategy is simple: function-adaptive lighting design. Starting from each space’s function, we developed tailored lighting solutions for different areas.

We set the artificial lighting color temperature at 4000K across the project to achieve a bright, transparent quality that is neither harsh like cool white nor too dim like warm amber — a balanced tone that suits comfortable office work.

At the entrance, the ground-floor exhibition space functions both as display and as the transitional corridor to the second-floor offices. For modern flexibility we selected linear lighting as the primary source. It gives even illumination across areas, supports exhibition requirements, and adapts quickly for impromptu meetings and conversations.

The staircases on the north and south sides, integrated with the circular gallery, form an up-and-down “dialogue space.” Here lighting does more than illuminate. Beyond basic daylight and conventional artificial light, we introduced ambient guidance lighting beneath the steps. When those lights come on, the austere steel stair seems to take a breath; safety for nighttime circulation is solved, and the space gains a layer of warmth and design presence.

Finally, the core interior office area. This space celebrates structure and tectonic aesthetics: broad steel members reveal mechanical beauty, and the juxtaposition of old and new materials creates a compelling tension.

Lighting is intended to let that beauty fully unfold. In the open office we use a two-level, concealed illumination approach: linear wall washers lift and wash the curved dome, and diffused reflection provides a soft, even ambient base. Fixtures are integrated with the steel frame so that you see light, not the lamps — a “concealed lighting” effect that preserves the space’s holistic aesthetics.

At each desk we specified floor lamps to deliver localized, task-appropriate light. This choice satisfies work illumination needs while minimally intruding on the structure, striking a balance between functionality and aesthetics.

Across the project we refused to treat light as a mere tool for seeing. Instead, light is a language for space: daylight waking the building’s memory, artificial light repairing daylight’s gaps and shaping a contemporary mood. This nearly seventy-year-old auditorium, under a carefully composed lighting scheme, keeps the emotional thread of CABR people intact while confidently meeting today’s needs for office work, exhibitions, and meetings.