Chapter 1: From the architect's perspective:

In traditional Eastern culture, emotional expression tends to be more reserved, but the rise of comedy theaters seems to have opened a door for emotional release. As an imported concept, stand-up comedy in China carries a new kind of energy. A brand new form of energy. With the rising popularity of entertainment shows like ‘Rock&Roast' in recent years, Fun Factory | Beijing Longfu Temple has become a unique cultural gateway between the East and the West. It embodies a distinctive humanistic quality—a field of energy generated by laughter. It serves as a new landmark, emanating a joyful aura.

The client is a well-known young comedy culture production company in China, responsible for producing popular variety shows such as "Roast" and "Saturday Night Live" (Chinese version). This project is their new offline performance space brand called "Fun Factory."

The project is located on the site of the ancient Longfu Temple in Beijing and was completed in April 2023, taking six months to finish. The story of Longfu Temple can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty, but as people wander through the narrow winding alleys or walk along the edges of the ancient buildings, it creates an undefinable city walk, a silent dialogue with time.

Chapter 2: Hutong, old Beijing city and comedy

Fun Factory | Beijing Longfu Temple is located in a lively area that has gradually formed a small commercial district with distinct youth culture features, thanks to the influx of emerging businesses. Surrounded by hutongs (narrow alleys), the entire building, except for the ground floor and rooftop, is primarily used for offices and has a more serious architectural style. On the street-facing side of the building, the designer placed a large yellow arc-shaped lighting sign, resembling a warm light beam in silence, gently illuminating the night at the street corner.

Longfu Building is a traditional office building, mainly black and gray in color, with a newly constructed rooftop in the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Looking down from the rooftop, it is surrounded by hutongs made of bricks and tiles. The project's facade on the ground floor spans approximately 40 meters, covering almost an entire block. When designing the exterior of Fun Factory, the designer view it as a stationary capsule train storing happiness.

On the street-facing entrance, the designer added bright yellow accents to the original building's deep gray brick texture. The yellow facade of the main lobby visually breathes and becomes more light-hearted through the changing light. The lighting, with its ability to change colors, also brings different atmospheres to the "street" ambiance, adapting to various thematic requirements. The strong contrast of light and shadow, along with color variations, significantly brightens the overall interior atmosphere of the ground floor, allowing Fun Factory to enter people's vision with a lively and vibrant presence. It has become a landmark within this district, creating a unique sense of neighborhood and seamlessly blending in while being innovative.
In the impression of old Beijing city, there are not only the blue-brick lanes and green-tiled roofs but also the vibrant colors of glazed yellow and vermilion red. Based on the color principles, people are naturally drawn to bright and vivid elements. Therefore, the designers intentionally and skillfully enhanced this feature in the color composition of the architectural space. This further emphasizes the landmark attributes defined by the project, combining the bustling marketplace and spectators with the colors of red, yellow, green, and blue.

Chapter 3: "Floating Freedom In Space"

The designer incorporated peepholes at different levels of the doors, allowing glimpses from the building to the lobby, from the lobby to the theater, and from the performance corridors to the lounge. Through the progression of sight-lines, it connects the "camera switches" from the public to the performers. It carries an inviting meaning, hoping to inspire passersby to embrace a spirit of adventure and catch a glimpse of the world of stand-up comedy. Of course, these windows can also be used for playful interactions, such as eye contact. Such playful gestures are hidden in the details of each design, allowing you to encounter joy and happiness throughout the "energy field of laughter."

On the right side of the entrance, the wall has a more functional purpose. The designer employed a double-layer perforated design: an exterior metal grille matching customized acrylic props, and an interior wall with a gradient yellow backdrop. Through the overlay of lighting, colors, texts, and props, the visual information is presented in a more diverse and rich manner.

The rest area at the entrance of Fun Factory is a relaxed space. The red curtain extending from the stage, the yellow tiled steps, one side composed of diatom mud walls, and the other side made of perforated aluminum panels provide flexibility for product displays and exhibitions. The intentionally sloped matte stainless steel on the ceiling breaks the stereotypical interior spatial composition. All of this seems like a collision of colors originating from a corner deep within the street.

The rest area also features a black countertop, which represents an unconstrained zone. While serving as a partition, it can serve any purpose—displaying objects, acting as a bar counter for relaxation, or simply sitting on the countertop and enjoying the play of light and shadow, spending time to embrace the floating freedom and energy within the space.

Chapter 4: "About Pure & Fusion"

As a performing arts space, the interior of the theater is particularly important. The design of the control console at Fun Factory combines the origins of stand-up comedy, which often began in bars or small gatherings, where a microphone and an empty stage with a beam of light create an atmospheric setting. In the design of Fun Factory's control console, the designer present it more intuitively, resembling a bar counter in front of the audience, as if you could order a drink and have a chat with old friends. It adds a unique sense of ceremony to the performance space.

Although the console appears compact, it possesses the ability to control the stage, the performance ambiance, and the audience flow similar to that of a large theater console. Such a design opens up new ideas and patterns for theater prototypes of this type and scale.

Compared to other theatrical forms of storytelling, stand-up comedy shows emphasize interactive experiences on an equal level with the audience—physical closeness in conversation and psychological empathy at zero distance. Therefore, when designing such spaces, the crucial factor to consider is the sense of distance between performers and the audience, which manifests in physical space, lighting, and acoustics. It allows the audience to feel an intimate connection with the performers and the stage, reducing the sense of unfamiliarity between the performers, space, and the audience.

By appropriately compressing seat spacing, arranging the audience compactly, and creating a relatively dim environment inside the theater, the audience can focus more on the performance itself, quickly establishing a relationship with the performers, and immersing themselves in a purer theatrical atmosphere. Although the project backgrounds and methods may vary, the designer's understanding of the spatial characteristics and the interactive relationship with users remains consistent.

In the rapidly evolving internet era, Fun Factory as a pioneer of young comedy theaters in China, continues to demonstrate its boundless potential, which unfolds in each specific architectural space practice.