M2 Training Centre / SpActrum

Architects: SpActrum
Area: 275 m²
Year: 2024
Photography: Terrence Zhang, Jinyu Wan
Construction: Beijing Jinghui Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd.
Interior Design: SpActrum
Lead Designer: Yan Pan
Design Team Members: Zhen Li, Chunxu Li
Lighting Design: Guan Xiaohao
Client: MREGINA
City: Hangzhou
Country: China

M2 Training Centre, a training facility designed by SpActrum in Hangzhou, China, has reconfigured conventional spatial typologies through a geometric system inspired by the amphitheater. Completed in 2024, the project introduces a multi-centered stepped interior shaped by overlapping concentric circles. This configuration creates a dynamic topography that merges circulation and seating, supporting multiple uses such as training, exhibitions, and filming. The design process centered on key spatial parameters including step height, circle spacing, center point location, and eccentric rotation, which were refined through mutual calibration. A café is integrated into the elevated sections, and skylights allow natural light to animate the space. The interior acts as an adaptable landscape that suggests use without enforcing it, inviting users to explore and engage freely.

The M2 Training Center is inherently a polyvalent space—open to multiple interpretations and adaptable to diverse uses by different individuals. Its core inspiration lies in crafting a pure geometric form, one that simultaneously invites layered readings from its users.
Interview with Yan Pan of SpActrum

13 outdoor entrance photographer terrence zhang

SpActrum has completed the M2 Training Centre in Hangzhou, China, organizing the interior around the formal logic of the amphitheater. The design develops a landscape of overlapping concentric circles, generating a stepped, multi-centered terrain that moves away from fixed spatial hierarchies. Instead of separating functions, the configuration enables a range of uses including corporate training, exhibitions, and filming within a single spatial field.

Although the primary program supports corporate training for MREGINA headquarters, the architects deliberately left the function open-ended. The interior operates as a continuous topography, with steps that facilitate both movement and seating. This hybrid strategy responds to changing patterns of communication and occupation, dissolving rigid programmatic boundaries while maintaining a strong central spatial focus. The approach reflects a shift toward spatial models that integrate presentation and audience without formal separation, expanding the range of activity within the same architectural framework.

The spatial logic draws from the amphitheater typology, where viewing and performance converge. Three sets of concentric circles interlock to form the underlying geometry, resulting in a continuously changing stepped interior. The design process involved the careful calibration of four key parameters. The location of each circle’s center established the relationships between different spatial zones and determined the basic usage patterns. The height and gradient of the steps were adjusted to accommodate seating standards while ensuring walkable transitions. A general slope rising from the front to the back allows for clear sightlines, while variations among the three sets reinforce the topographic character. The first two concentric systems feature lower centers, while the third is higher, producing a hillside-like profile.

Circle spacing was determined by human scale. Step widths allow for seating at the edges while leaving sufficient room for passage. The architects introduced slight eccentric rotation among the circles to avoid uniform alignment. This rotation produced oblique connections and ramp-like transitions, breaking the symmetry and creating interwoven paths that resemble a natural terrain. These parameters were not applied in a fixed sequence. Instead, they were tested and adjusted iteratively, allowing for interdependent refinement throughout the design phase.

The elevated edges of the topography accommodate a café, creating a service node within the stepped field. Natural light enters through skylights placed along the higher front areas, as well as a central circular skylight, enhancing visibility and spatial depth. In addition to its internal connection to the office, the facility includes a separate outdoor entrance that makes the center directly accessible.

The interior functions as an open landscape where the usual definitions of movement, seating, and gathering are loosened. The design encourages intuitive navigation and spontaneous interaction, letting users interpret the space based on their needs. As described by the architects, the space “invites people adaptive and imaginative beings to navigate its contours, find their own paths, and interact with it.” Rather than enforcing strict divisions, the architecture enables activities to emerge organically, guided by subtle spatial cues embedded in the geometry.