On paper, Open Structure’s Solar Tower seems like a dream – and simple – fee. The scheme, based mostly in Yantai in japanese China, combines a major, seaside plot; an architecture-led, bold consumer who sought to remodel a former industrial neighbourhood right into a cultural hub for town’s quickly rising inhabitants; and a short that allowed for optimum flexibility and creativity, with out exactly figuring out what the tip product ought to appear like, and even home.
The town authorities have been after ‘one thing distinctive to boost town’s ocean entrance,’ and a rigorous interview course of and an invited competitors later, they awarded the fee to the Beijing-based studio. Nevertheless, honing down on the constructing’s placing, curvaceous design was not as simple as it would initially appear.
(Picture credit score: Tian Fangfang)
Solar Tower: an open ended architectural transient
‘It is vitally tough to answer such an open-ended transient, we needed to outline the questions ourselves earlier than we might give any solutions. In actual fact, we tried greater than 30 schemes earlier than lastly arriving at one thing that “felt proper”. However the concept this constructing must be on the confluence of nature and tradition was established on the very starting in the course of the architect-interview course of, and this imaginative and prescient was agreed by the consumer which was crucial for the challenge,’ says Wenjing Huang, who co-founded the apply with associate Li Hu.
‘Coincidentally, this was not the primary time that we got a quite open and imprecise design transient. It’s positively not frequent although. We had encountered a couple of occasions, largely in quite distinctive cultural tasks, the place the purchasers weren’t on the lookout for one thing revolutionary and provoking however unsure what their buildings must be. These purchasers are typically open minded and have belief in our work.’
(Picture credit score: Tian Fangfang)
The scheme was designed to accommodate a mixture of cultural applications, together with exhibition, library and meditation areas, in addition to an out of doors theatre and a meals and beverage aspect. Because the Yantai area has an historical historical past of solar worshipping, the architects determined to rejoice this ‘forgotten’ facet of native tradition. They sculpted their design based mostly on the sunshine’s trajectory by means of the day, slicing open a bit to face the ocean, aiming to pay tribute to solar, time and nature. The tip product is daring and crowd pleasing, and it was conceived to be open to the general public, fostering cultural and neighborhood life within the metropolis.
(Picture credit score: Tian Fangfang)
As soon as the challenge’s remaining type and programme have been finalised, extra challenges reared their head – particularly building ones, given the constructing’s complicated geometries, in addition to its materials (the concrete’s white color was difficult to realize). Concrete was chosen as the primary materials, poured in two layers of slanted shells related and braced by horizontal slabs and ramps. It was chosen for its sturdiness to resist the positioning’s fixed publicity to the area’s corrosive mixture of wind, solar and salty sea air 12 months spherical. It additionally had the extra benefits of providing an excellent thermal mass to assist preserve heat within the winter and coolness in the summertime, whereas insulating the inside.
Its properties meant the primary exhibition areas might stay free from mechanical air-con, and scale back power consumption inside the constructing altogether. Past the concrete shell, glass, aluminium, stainless-steel and bronze full the design, with wooden launched to craft a extra intimate atmosphere within the library and cafe space. In the meantime, one of many scheme’s features, the Mild Institute, conceived as a digital museum, offered one other problem for the curatorial crew. The content material supplier needed to assume exterior the field,’ the architects clarify.
(Picture credit score: Open Structure)
Now, half approach by means of building – the Solar Tower topped out in June 2023 and is scheduled for completion in 2024 – and the challenge already cuts a dramatic determine within the Yantai shoreline. Its authors hope it can turn out to be a landmark vacation spot for its seaside metropolis, connecting people and nature, its ‘acutely aware design’ appearing as a vessel for individuals to expertise and really feel in sync with their environment. The architects write: ‘Sitting on the steps underneath the parabolic shell, gazing into the distant ocean framed by the dramatic arch whereas the sounds of nature’s respiration echo gently all through, one’s thoughts will steadily clear up.’
openarch.com
A model of this text seems within the February 2024 challenge of Wallpaper* – devoted to the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024 – obtainable in print from 4 January, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple Information +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* at present
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