Standing in the corner of the courtyard block of Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the office building of China Architectural Culture Center was considered an 'advanced' example of large scale architecture in an urban context of high-density upon its completion in late 1990s. Two 16-storey high office towers along with the 9-story middle block with an atrium occupy the northwest corner of the Sanlihe-Zengguang Road with boundary lines distant from sidewalks, creating an almost abandoned void in urban space: vacant lands between sidewalks and the building have become carparks. The interior space of the building, also, is unpleasant and outdated due to unreasonable design and arrangement by today's standards.

The reconstruction of the building aims at retrieving the openness and publicness not only for the office workers in the building but also for nearby residents and passing pedestrians. Urban accesses and public layers are hence created as an attempt of a possible new mode of office complex.