The Yard by Neri&Hu: An Industrial Compound Becomes Dalian's Cultural Courtyard
The Yard in Dalian turns a former chemical research institute into a place for cultural and social exchange. The compound contains six buildings that once served as offices, warehouses and dormitories, situated close to the city's universities and software parks. Neri&Hu responded to the buildings' different ages, heights and previous alterations by creating a shared public landscape rather than giving each facade an identical new appearance.
Six separate buildings connected through common life
The original buildings surrounded an open area formerly used for parking. Their varied forms and surfaces record the compound's decades of industrial and administrative occupation. Neri&Hu accepted these differences as an important part of the site and introduced a continuous system of architectural elements to connect the structures and the spaces between them.
The renewed programme combines galleries, lifestyle retail, hospitality, a cinema, a theatre, offices and a library. The former dormitory has been adapted for office use, while the small library at the entrance welcomes visitors from outside the compound. This range of activities is intended to attract residents, students and workers throughout the day.
A courtyard informed by Chinese garden traditions
The new architectural system completes a U-shaped composition around a central courtyard. Walls, screens and canopies frame views, shape sheltered routes and create an atmosphere of enclosure. Rather than reproduce a traditional garden, the architects adopt its principle of sequencing movement through intimate and open places.
A large rock forms a focal point within the central landscape. Its natural mass contrasts with the utilitarian buildings and the new metal elements, giving the court a contemplative quality. The courtyard provides a refuge from the busier city beyond while supporting the social activity of cafés, galleries and other destinations nearby.
A second facade made of Corten steel
Weathering steel is the principal material of the new connecting framework. Its changing surface recalls the site's industrial character and provides a relatively consistent visual language in front of the existing stucco buildings. The steel does not erase their older forms; instead, it mediates between them through canopies, screens and passages.
The new construction creates protected edges where visitors can move, stop and gather. The combination of old masonry and newer metal gives the compound a sense of continuity across different periods, while its courtyard arrangement makes the public programme easier to navigate.
New interior functions, visible old materials
Inside the refurbished buildings, new plaster surfaces are placed beside retained brick and structural elements. This contrast keeps the previous life of the research institute visible without preventing the spaces from serving contemporary functions. Offices, galleries and hospitality interiors are designed with a restrained material vocabulary that allows their changing uses to remain central.
The library is especially important as a public invitation. Positioned close to the entrance, it gives people a reason to enter even without attending a performance or visiting a gallery. The larger interior programme works in a similar way, encouraging informal encounters among education, culture and daily work.
Preserving industrial memory through new activity
The Yard demonstrates how adaptive reuse can be measured by the life a site supports rather than by its physical preservation alone. Neri&Hu has created a coherent public environment from buildings that were once separate and inward-looking. Its courtyards, weathering steel and layered interiors retain the evidence of the past while making room for a different future.
Project information and photography
Project: The Yard | Dalian Cultural Center, No. 201 Huangpu Road, Dalian, China. Architecture and interior design: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, led by Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu. Area: 4,631 m². Former use: chemical research institute offices, warehouses and dormitories. Completed: May 2025. Photographs: Zhu Runzi and DONG Image, credited individually in the selected source filenames.
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