Bund Post Office and Shop

The project aims to revive the importance of this neighborhood of Ningbo, the first in the region to avail of a post office, with this new hub for the community

To meet these objectives, the new facility – located on the banks of the Yongjiang River – had to stir up a certain nostalgia for the past, but using an updated aesthetic in accordance with the current requirements of a public postal amenity. In the end, the program was organized in three levels: the actual courier service on the ground floor, a souvenir store immediately upstairs, and two more levels initially meant as play spaces for children but doubling as venues for workshops and events.

Patterns and shapes of bygone times are combined with a bright palette of colors in a double-height entrance atrium that keeps the post office counter visible from everywhere. A white metal staircase piercing all the levels leads our gaze toward the second floor, which is perceived as an extension of this structural mesh and begins to mix with new tones and materials. The third floor features undulating vertical panels of glass inspired by the geometry of traditional roofs.