This project locates at the new landmark of Shanghai -- Rafael Sky City. The Rafael Sky City, designed by Rafael Viñoly who is an renowned international architect, is an urban industrial corridor of “the most length in the world”, which becomes not only a new highlight for city image, but also a new highland for the gathering of high-end industries.

The most attracting highlight of this architectural complex is a “cover” on the roof covering more than 20 buildings, with an undulant shape as waves. With a gross floor area up to 860 thousand square meters, it integrates 5A-class office, commercial facilities, star hotel and other functions. Shanghai M&G Stationery has its headquarter locating in one of those buildings, with 1500 staffs and up to 35 departments, which comprises of one subsidiary corporation and possesses an office space totally covering 18 floors of that building with an area up to 21000 m². It has been settled and put into functioning at present.

In order to achieve a more reasonable using plan of such a huge volume and a more comfortable working space so as to facilitate more efficient management and operation of corporations...We visited the M&G Stationery and made comprehensive inquiries to be familiar with relations and working processes among all departments and re-arrange the architecture and spatial distribution, especially the vertical and horizontal traffic relationship, so as to keep the whole building in order.

M&G Stationery, as one of the world's giant stationery manufacturers, is characterized by its role as a comprehensive stationery supplier with an integration of creative value and service advantage, showing its vision as building a “world-class stationery brand”. Therefore, the designer determined “glorious thriving along with daylight” as its design concept. The concept, being full of youthful spirit and embracing the positive visions, implies that the corporation is the industry leader as the “glorious sunlight in the morning”, exhibiting the vigorous power of Shanghai M&G Stationery headquarter that embraces the positive visions.

Like the first beam of sunlight of the sunrise, casting all its glorious splendor and creating a stage for perfect performance... Pure colors and high quality materials highlight the spacious atmosphere of the lobby, and the clean and practical lines as well as brief style create an impressive effect. It is the feelings of brevity and order reflected from layers of overlapping books, it is the first beam of daylight penetrating through the clouds, leaving a first impression of grandness and magnificence.

The design vision of the project lies in the expectation to break the traditional sense of closure and to create a free office environment. Activities of all staffs will be within the visual scope of group, and every workspace is designed in an open style with no shelter around, so every code of conduct or order is produced amid the self-restriction among colleagues, so as to constitute a positive working environment.

As for vertical design, hierarchy distribution is arranged to meet the using demands of 1500 staffs. 35 departments are categorized into 3 types according to private type, efficiency type and business type, and office areas with various functions are distributed from bottom to top. We not only think about the relations between different departments, but also take it into consideration as how to enable staffs to achieve the highest level of working efficiency in their coordination between works.

As for horizontal design, in order to prevent traffic overlaps and crosses among departments, designers designed key junctions for each floor, so as to avoid traffic clutter, space debris and even waste of space, and at the same time to provide this huge building with core social gathering points, which becomes the biggest design highlight of this office project.

In order to enhance interactive triggering and connection of inside space, the designer upholds to its belief that working environment should always “put people first”. Consequently various design styles were applied to distinguish among building common area, office area and business reception area, to build a comfortable atmosphere for working and social communication based on local conditions, which is also the very humanistic care and corporate culture delivered by M&G Stationery.

The business reception area occupying top two floors of the building adopts the minimalist business style of art museum. It takes advantage of terrazzo, organic glass, metal stainless steel and other materials to create an atmosphere packed with artistic styles, so as to let the lines of light play a leading role to present a sense of technology beyond time.

Wherever visitors come from, Shanghai M&G Stationery headquarter presents its internationalization, sense of belonging, vitality, flexibility and sense of technology to every one of them with various spatial experience. For staffs inside the building, it makes office work no more boring as before; For customers, it delivers to them the unceasing power of M&G Stationery to embrace growing opportunities and thrive, demonstrates the cultural spirit and shapes the personality and attitude of M&G Stationery.