Designed by Azira Interiors for Baisha Chemicals in Guangzhou’s Baiyun District, this office reconsiders the conventional image of a chemical company workplace. Rather than relying on a highly technical or clinical aesthetic, the interior combines an international contemporary character with materials, planting, and cultural references intended to create a warmer working environment.
The reception establishes this approach through grey aluminium composite panels, gradient-grey carpet, and white and light timber-toned volumes. The restrained palette provides a neutral corporate backdrop, while warmer surfaces soften the space.
The design is organised around four themes: flexible workspaces, local identity, intergenerational care, and human-centred sustainability. Together, these principles shape spaces for focused work, collaboration, informal exchange, and brand communication.
Flexibility and everyday interaction
Rather than separating workplace functions rigidly, conference and collaboration areas are connected with circulation and informal spaces that support both planned and spontaneous interaction. An open, modular office system allows workstation layouts to be adjusted for different activities and patterns of use.
Comfortable furniture, gentle lighting, and integrated greenery are used throughout to create environments for both work and pause. Together with flexible planning, these elements support a range of working and informal activities within the same workplace.
The balcony extends the workplace outdoors. Overlooking Baiyun Mountain, it provides a more relaxed setting away from conventional desk-based work.
Connecting workplace and place
Local identity is drawn from the everyday culture and history of Guangzhou. The Cantonese expression ‘Dak Haan Jam Caa’ — taking time out for tea — informs the emphasis on spaces for pause and informal interaction. References to Baiyun Mountain and its Taoist and literary heritage introduce another layer of regional context into the contemporary corporate interior.
These references become more explicit in the President’s office, where selected calligraphy and the positioning of the Tai Hexagram draw on Taoist thought, Feng Shui, and the Chinese concepts of Yin and Yang. Rather than reproducing traditional forms throughout the office, the design incorporates cultural references selectively within a modern workplace framework.
Designing for continuity
The showroom addresses another form of continuity: the company's history. Instead of presenting Baisha Chemical solely through products and corporate graphics, the exhibition uses stories and memories to communicate the people behind the organisation.
This is particularly relevant to intergenerational succession, a consideration for many Chinese private enterprises. The exhibition presents the company’s development through stories and memories, allowing different generations to engage with its history and continuity.
