Nongfu Spring

Nongfu Spring, the leading Chinese mineral water company, has opened a Brand Experience Center designed by Atelier Brückner.

It is situated in the idyllic Changbai Mountains area in the north-east of China. In 2,500 square metres of exhibition space, visitors can enjoy a panorama of experiences, including a viewing tower and an excursion to the Moya Spring.

The space shows fascinating facts not only about the discovery of the spring, the special quality of the water and its source, but also about the company’s history and its products. Scenographically staged spaces dedicated to specific themes adjoin the austere production halls, through which the visitor passes, walking on a glass bridge. Individual media stations along the way show live images, offering a direct view into the filling machines.

The thematic spaces frame the walkway through the centre and put the visitor in the right mood for the experience of nature in the Changbai Mountain Range. A three-dimensional installation consisting of 25 living birch trees serve as a prelude, accompanied by a cinema room that also addresses the forest theme in its seating furniture and suspended tree trunks. The film that is shown describes how the spring was discovered.

At the end of the tour through the centre, there are three spaces providing supplementary information and more detailed insights into the background of the factory’s location. The central space is dedicated to the biodiversity of the Changbai Mountain Range, namely to the basis for the excellent quality of the water sold by the company. It is accompanied by a laboratory in which visitors themselves can test and interactively compare the water’s specific qualities. There is also a Contributors’ Lounge in which all those involved in the project are introduced, whereby the items of seating furniture are reminiscent of water cartons. The three spaces feature image graphics, which are suspended from the ceiling and address the specific themes. There are over 300 of these, joining the epilogue area together optically to form a single unit. 

Nongfu Spring Brand Experience Center, Fusong, China
Program: exhibition space
Architects: Atelier Brückner
Controlling: Shirin Frangoul-Brückner, Prof. Uwe R. Brückner, Prof. Eberhard Schlag, Britta Nagel
Project manager: Michael Hoeschen
Project team: Nicolo Piana, Raed Caml, Ruiting Zhang, Xiaoyi Gu, Phil Püschel, Daniela Tauscher
Graphic: Xiaoyi Gu
Light planning: LDE Belzner Holmes (Antonis Chatzianestis, Andy Holmes)
Exhibition contractor: LOE Design
Construction supervision: Oliver tree property development Co. Ltd.  
Area: 2,500 sqm
Completion: 2015