The third phase of Xixi National Wetland Park is connected with the first and second phases of Xixi National Wetland Park. It is located on the westernmost side of the wetland, close to the west line of Hangzhou Ring, with a total area of 3.35 square kilometers. The plan uses a discrete layout to set twelve plots as art collection villages. Each plot is equipped with an artist club of about 4000 square meters, and 12 architects are invited to carry out architectural design. The architectural nature is defined as a discrete creative club, which is intended to be provided to local artists as short-term accommodation and small private exhibitions. Professor Zhang Lei of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Nanjing University accepted the invitation of the organizer to undertake the design of the clubhouse.
When the designer first came to the base, he was already infected by the beautiful environment of Xixi Wetland. He tried to find an ideal solution to match the environment of the base. His habitual sensitivity to the things around him quickly inspired him from the trees in the base. He hopes that the building can grow out of the base like a tree and coexist harmoniously with the surrounding environment.
The final clubhouse was designed into five groups of units, each with an area of 800 square meters. Each group of units is composed of a large Y-shaped volume and two small Y-shaped volumes. The scale of the small Y-shaped volume is exactly half the length, width and height of the large Y-shaped volume. According to the landscape characteristics of the topography around the site, the size is Y The flexible arrangement of “1+2” combination forms a separated tree-like settlement structure that not only conforms to the ecological order but also has the function of natural variation, and interacts with the site landscape through organic growth, thereby forming a strong structure and visual relationship.
Judging from the skin materials used in the building, the five clubhouse units can be divided into two basic types. Type 1: Large Y type uses white fair-faced concrete as skin material, small Y type uses milky white translucent Hollow pc sheet as skin material; Type 2: Large Y type and small Y type both use milky white translucent Hollow pc sheet as skin material.
So why did Zhang Lei choose a special material like polycarbonate sheet in the club? The answer to this question is still to start with his original concept. In this project, “environmental sensitivity” is the starting point of his thinking, and the core of the design can be summarized as-how to build a building that is born in the environment and is better than the environment. The entire design process is developed around this core.
In an interview, Zhang Lei once expressed this attitude towards this project: “…When I received this task, I felt that in such a dim place, the best thing is not to build a house…”. Of course, responding to reality with nothingness is obviously not the fundamental way to solve the problem. Faced with the contradiction, Zhang Lei chose such a design strategy-although the volume of the building cannot be reduced (with area and usage requirements), it can weaken its sense of volume by controlling the texture of the material. Therefore, the “ambiguous” material of Hollow pc sheet has become a reasonable choice.
It is conceivable that the clubhouse wrapped in milky white translucent Hollow pc sheet does not have obvious volume in the mist of the wetland. The light in the room at night penetrates through this gauze-like skin and diffuses on the quiet shore. From a distance, like a shadowy river lamp scattered on the water.
Due to the constraints of objective conditions, the owner and the architect finally chose the flying wing Hollow pc sheet together. The curtain wall manufacturer provided an installation plan—using the primary and secondary keel system as the supporting structure of the Hollow pc sheet curtain wall; the individual panels were sealed with special fasteners. Out of responsibility for the quality of the project, the architect did not directly use the single-layer Hollow pc sheet curtain wall as the building maintenance structure, but designed corresponding composite exterior walls and composite roof systems for different locations according to design needs.
All small Y-shaped volumes are covered by Hollow pc sheet except for the 3m*3m viewing window at the end of each branch, including the roof. The wall part is a “Hollow pc sheet (outside) + glass (inside)” type composite curtain wall system, and the roof is an additional layer of Hollow pc sheet on top of ordinary roofing practices.
Except that the end of the large Y-shaped volume of Type 2 is designed as a 6m*6m viewing window, the rest of the walls are all “Hollow pc sheet (outside) + aerated concrete block walls (inside)” composite exterior walls system.
It can be seen from the combination of Hollow pc sheet and other materials in the above practice that the purpose of this is to use conventional materials and structural measures to ensure the stability and durability of the maintenance structure. Although there is nothing special about the construction node of the Hollow pc sheet in this project, the application of the Hollow pc sheet in different locations fully reflects the architect’s rigorous formal logic.
First of all, the small Y-shaped exterior wall adopts the “Hollow pc sheet (outer) + glass (inner)” combination method, which takes advantage of the light-transmitting and non-see-through characteristics of the Hollow pc sheet, ensuring indoor privacy at night, and at the same time Allow the light to penetrate the translucent wall, so that the design concept can be fully realized.
But if the small Y-shaped roof also chooses to use glass, wouldn’t the lighting effect at night be more ideal? But the architect chose the conventional roofing method. Why? This is because the equipment and pipes in the small Y-shape are arranged below the roof and must be sheltered by a suspended ceiling. In this way, even if a glass roof is used, the purpose of light transmission cannot be achieved. So the architect chose the conventional method for the roof of Little Y.
Since the conventional roof can meet the functional requirements, why is it necessary to cover it with a layer of Hollow pc sheet? This is because the small Y-shaped roof is only one floor high, and the second floor of the large Y-shaped roof can easily be seen. The overall view of the roof, in order to make the skin of the building have a continuous and coherent appearance, so it is still covered with a layer of exactly the same Hollow pc sheet.
In order to express the integrity of the body, the large Y type also chose Hollow pc sheet as the skin material. But why not choose the same glass as the small Y shape inside the Hollow pc sheet, but choose the combination of “Hollow pc sheet (outside) + aerated concrete block wall (inside)”? This is because the architect hopes that the first floor in the large Y has sufficient clear height, so all the equipment and pipes in it are attached to the outer wall. Even if the glass curtain wall is used on the inside of the Hollow pc sheet, it will affect the light penetration due to the shielding of the equipment and pipes during the decoration.
In the design of the “Art Collection Village” in the third phase of Xixi National Wetland Park, the architects maintained their sensitivity to the basic elements of the environment, space, and materials and their consistent clear logic, especially in the selection and application of materials. And temperance. The use of a large number of polycarbonate sheets has allowed Xixi National Wetland Park Phase III “Art Collection Village” to achieve good results without using exaggerated shapes and unconventional structures, which is low-key and powerful.
