At XPENG’s new global headquarters in Guangzhou, designed by weico Architects with interiors and lighting by CCD / Cheng Chung Design (HK), a brand logo becomes a spatial framework.
A car appears to float before a vast curved screen at XPENG’s new global headquarters in Guangzhou’s Tianhe District. Animated imagery, automotive-painted columns and a reception desk shaped like a spacecraft wing set the tone for the 360,000-square-metre campus, where technology, mobility and working life converge. Designed by weico Architects on a 68,000-square-metre site, the building takes its stepped, X-shaped form from XPENG’s emblem while responding to local aviation height restrictions. CCD / Cheng Chung Design (HK), responsible for the interiors and lighting, extends this idea indoors, using the “X” to organise movement, views and atmosphere.
The lobby is where the automotive references are most immediate. Light traces modelled on XPENG’s distinctive headlight profile form luminous paths overhead, while the floating vehicle and curved media wall turn arrival into a carefully staged brand experience. The surrounding columns are finished in automotive paint, reinforcing a dialogue between industrial engineering and the more cinematic qualities of digital light.
The reception counter follows suit. Its asymmetrical geometry recalls the aerodynamic profile of a starship or aircraft wing, a sculptural gesture that introduces the project’s recurring themes of speed and flight. Under tightly controlled lighting, it seems to recede into the space rather than sit heavily within it.
In the showroom, the design team adopts a different kind of movement. A wide grey ribbon spirals upwards in a 360-degree loop, creating a vortex-like centrepiece that directs visitors through the display area. It also brings a sense of visual order to the large interior: curved walls accommodate recessed display niches, while mirrored surfaces deepen the perspective and create the impression of an inverted parallel world.
The corporate exhibition zone extends this interplay between physical architecture and digital content. Multi-screen projections animate the structural columns, allowing imagery to travel between them rather than remain contained on a single wall. Metallic circular installations, inspired by planetary orbits, present vehicle models and drones—an indication of XPENG’s broader view of mobility as a connected ecosystem.
The atrium provides a pause from the darker, more immersive exhibition spaces. Daylight enters from above and is broken into rhythmic geometric patterns, drawing the eye upwards through the building. Curves soften the weight of the structure, while circles, grids, straight lines and voids are held in deliberate balance.
The workplace floors are less theatrical but no less closely linked to the X concept. Angular staircases stitch together different levels, and glass balustrades sit alongside white structural frames to bring daylight deep into the interior. The open-plan arrangement is designed around the intersections between work and exchange: fixed desks are paired with informal zones, and modular furniture can be rearranged for focused tasks, brainstorming sessions or impromptu meetings.
In meeting rooms, faceted ceiling planes form a loose butterfly-wing pattern, tempering the formal setting with a softer reference to diffused natural light. Dark walls and beige seating provide a restrained palette, while stepped communal areas combine timber finishes with green terrazzo for a more relaxed, park-like setting. These shared spaces are intended for reading, conversations and small presentations as much as for work.
The transition into dining areas is marked by capsule-like curved openings, described as a “time tunnel” between the office and moments of leisure. A white service island appears to hover above a strip of linear lighting, with metal and glass lending the space a crisp, efficient character. Further inside, arched booths create more secluded seating, while yellow accents inject energy into the dining room. A private dining area is quieter in mood, with a circular pendant filtering warm light through misted glass and muted green and beige finishes softening the business setting.
Photo courtesy of Qilin Zhang
