Much more than a Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects
03/01/2019.
[Hengshui Botanic Park, Hebei Province] China
metalocus, ÁNGEL TORNE
metalocus, ÁNGEL TORNE
The only building in an old wetland, the Hoffman kiln. A polluted environment and a building that ended up being partially demolished because its manufacturing process was very polluting.
Overlooking east façade away. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
East facade. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Overlooking west façade on bridge. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
West entrance. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Inner courtyard overlooking tower. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
East facade. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Overlooking east façade by the lake. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Gengpor Interval Architects. Fotografía por Zhi Geng
Southwest facade. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Overlooking west façade by the lake. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Overlooking east façade by the lake. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Gengos por Interval Architects. Fotografía por Zhi Geng
Courtyard by the restaurant. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Main entrance plaza. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Main entrance. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Inner courtyard. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Inside of the tower. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Vaulted galleries. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Vaulted restaurant. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Details of vaults. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Observation tower. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Observation tower. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Office entrance. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Gallery entrance. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Gengadrillos por Interval Architects. Fotografía por Zhi Geng
Inner courtyard entrance. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Inner courtyard entrance. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Detail of brick facade. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Detail of brick facade. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Light, shadow and translucency. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Detail of brick facade. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Detail of brick facade. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Model. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Model. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Site plan. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Ground floor plan. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
4th floor plan. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
East elevation. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
West elevation. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
North elevation. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
South elevation. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Section. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Section. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Section. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Hoffman kiln. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Surrounding landscape. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Overlooking the botanic park on the tower. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects. Photograph by Zhi Geng
Stacking diagrams. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Stacking diagrams. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Stacking diagrams. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Stacking diagrams. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Stacking diagrams. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Previous situation. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Previous situation. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Previous situation. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
Previous situation. Tower of Bricks by Interval Architects.
The local administration decided to recover the wetland as a botanical garden and the old factory as a new center for botanical art, that is, a gallery that shows plants, potteries and floral art. The new project designed by Interval Architects, reconnects the memory of the place with the new cultural program.
Through the creation of openings and patios, the initial introverted project is opened to visitors as a new public space, and the chimney becomes an observation tower through which visitors climb. The bricks are the main material of the project, becoming a means to remember the materiality and lost textures of the place.
The new project maintains the reference to the traditional oven from a contemporary position.
Through the creation of openings and patios, the initial introverted project is opened to visitors as a new public space, and the chimney becomes an observation tower through which visitors climb. The bricks are the main material of the project, becoming a means to remember the materiality and lost textures of the place.
The new project maintains the reference to the traditional oven from a contemporary position.
Description of project by Interval Architects
Place and history
The project began with an abandoned Hoffman brick kiln, which was located between Hengshui wetland park and the city proper of Hengshui. It was formerly a place where factories nearby used to drain their sewage water onto. As the only building on wetland, the brick kiln was highly recognizable with its chimney. However the Hoffman kiln was gradually abandoned due to the national policy that banned the burning of bricks out of clay as an environmental protection measure. The building was eventually demolished by the government due to its collapsing condition. With the new governmental plan to convert the wetland into a botanic park, the project called for the design of a botanic art center on the same site of the former kiln. We decided that the memory and history of the demolished kiln has to be recalled and remembered with the new architecture. We hope to connect the past and the present of the place with the project.
Reconstruction ≠ Replication
The new botanic art center is mainly a gallery showcasing plants, potteries and floral art. The new architecture is therefore a public facility that contrasts with the old kiln which was a introversive building purely for industrial production. With the intention to connect to the spatial history of the place, the new botanic art center has a massing and spatial composition that references to the old kiln but programmed with contemporary functions and experience. In doing so, the past and the future of the site are conceptually connected. The observation tower preserves the symbol and memory of the former chimney and the accessibility of the tower allows people to "climb up the chimney".
Transformation from introversion to publicness
While the old kiln was an industrial building with no public access, the new botanic art center opens to the public as an cultural and exhibition architecture. The spatial composition of the botanic art center conceptually refers to the old Hoffman kiln with a looped and vaulted space surrounds a central courtyard. Along the vaulted arcade, several courtyards are proposed and breaks the spatial continuity of the space, creating a blurred boundary between landscape and architecture, between interior and exterior, while also connects the inner central courtyard with the bigger environment. The roof garden of the podium also opens up the building and created unique viewing experience outwards. Courtyards are also proposed in between restaurants and kitchen at the northen and southern end of the building and allows better natural light into the dinning space.
Vaulted arcade as exhibition space
As opposed to a continous vault in a Hoffman kiln, the arcarde of the botanic art center is composed of a series of vaults which shows a visual and experiential progression of spaces in relation with light. The sequential setting of vaults defines seprate but interconnected galleries that house exhibition and records the relationship between space, light and shadow.
From chimney to tower
Every traditional kiln has a chimney and many people has the idea to climb on it. The proposition of an observation tower is reminiscent of the chimney and allows people to access the "chimney" with its four viewing platforms at different alttitudes, which offers different views and experiences of the botanic park.
Materiality, light and shadow
Bricks were used as the main materials throughout the architecture and become a medium to recall the lost materiality and texture of the place. Various kind of stacking patterns of bricks area used on the facade in order to generate translucency, which breaks the solidity and heaviness of brick wall, allows different light and shadow effects and promote the sense of publicness. For instance, facade of the interior courtyards are made more translucent in order to imply the publicness of the space. The observation tower are cladded with bricks stacked more porously to allow more light into the the tower and weaken the heaviness of the tower.
While the design of the Tower of Bricks has a reference to a traditional kiln, the new architecture holds a contemporary position in terms of the idea of publicness, connectivity to the environment and user experience. It emotionally extends local people's memory of the existence of a kiln. It is an architecture that connects history with future.
More information
Architects
Interval Architects. Principal-in-charge.- Oscar KO, Yunduan GU
Project Team
Oscar KO, Yunduan GU, Zexing YUE, Xianmei HU, Jing CHEN, Jin HUANG
Collaborators
Associate design institutes.- Orient Liho, Beijing New Era Architectural Design Ltd.
Client
Hengshui Botanic Park
Measures
Size.- 2065 sqm. Height.- 35.6m
Dates
2016-2018
Structure
Reinforced concrete
Oscar KO - GU Yunduan Interval Architects
Interval Architects is a Shanghai-based architecture design practice co-founded by Oscar KO and GU Yunduan. The practice has completed several representative projects including Tower of Bricks, Raffles Kindergarten Complex and 1/2 stadium.
Work of the office has received awards and nominations including the Perspective A&D China Award(Certicifate of Excellence), 2A Asia Architecture Award (Candidate Project) , HKDC Design for Asia Award (Merit Recognition), Re-Thinking Future Award (Honorable Mention), nomination for The 3rd China Media Architecture Award (Best Architecture Award). Interval Architects has also won prizes or shortlisted recognitions in competitions including a 2nd prize in Glass House Collection '13 competition, shortlisted entry for Spritual.d-Competition, shortlisted entry for Designboom Design for Death Architecture competition.
Interval Architects’ work has been widely presented in exhibitions such as Shanghai Urban Space Art Season Site Exhibition of Hongkou District, Architectural Society Exhibition of China CADE Architecture Design Expo, Wallpaper* Shanghai Urban Life Lab, Milan Design Week, Beijing Design Week and China 1000 exhibition.
Work of Inteval Architects has been widely presented in exhibitions such as Milan Design Week, Beijing Design Week and China 1000 exhibition. Interval Architects has also been published internationally in media such as METALOCUS, Desigboom, Archdaily, Dezeen, Domusweb, Perspective, d+a, CASE DA ABITARE(Chinese edition), Architecture & Culture, Taiwan Architecture, CONDE, Hinge, Gooood, China 1000, di, Landscape World, UED, T+A, DECO and etc.
Work of the office has received awards and nominations including the Perspective A&D China Award(Certicifate of Excellence), 2A Asia Architecture Award (Candidate Project) , HKDC Design for Asia Award (Merit Recognition), Re-Thinking Future Award (Honorable Mention), nomination for The 3rd China Media Architecture Award (Best Architecture Award). Interval Architects has also won prizes or shortlisted recognitions in competitions including a 2nd prize in Glass House Collection '13 competition, shortlisted entry for Spritual.d-Competition, shortlisted entry for Designboom Design for Death Architecture competition.
Interval Architects’ work has been widely presented in exhibitions such as Shanghai Urban Space Art Season Site Exhibition of Hongkou District, Architectural Society Exhibition of China CADE Architecture Design Expo, Wallpaper* Shanghai Urban Life Lab, Milan Design Week, Beijing Design Week and China 1000 exhibition.
Work of Inteval Architects has been widely presented in exhibitions such as Milan Design Week, Beijing Design Week and China 1000 exhibition. Interval Architects has also been published internationally in media such as METALOCUS, Desigboom, Archdaily, Dezeen, Domusweb, Perspective, d+a, CASE DA ABITARE(Chinese edition), Architecture & Culture, Taiwan Architecture, CONDE, Hinge, Gooood, China 1000, di, Landscape World, UED, T+A, DECO and etc.
奖项及提名 Awards & Nominations
- Australia <INDE Awards> The Design Studio category - Shortlist, 2020
- UK <WAN Awards> Emerging Practice of the Year - Silver Prize, 2019
- USA <Architecture MasterPrize> Institutional Architecture category - Small Firm of the Year, 2019
- UK <Dezeen Awards> Emerging Architect of the Year category - Longlist, 2019
- USA <AIA Shanghai & Beijing Chapter Architecture Design Excellence Awards> Shanghai | Beijing Shortlist, 2019
- Germany <ICONIC Awards> Best of Best & Winner, 2019
- USA <Architecture MasterPrize> Winner, 2019
- USA <Architizer A+ Awards> Special Mention, 2019
- Italy <PLAN Award> Honorable mention, 2019
- Japan <SKY Design Awards> Shortlist, 2019
- Germany <Design that Educates Award> Honorable Mention, 2019
- UK <Leaf Awards> Shortlist, 2019
- UK <Blueprint Awards> Shortlist, 2019
- 2018 Perspective A&D China Award- Certificate of Excellence
- 2018 Asia Architecture Award - Candidate project
- 2018 Perspective 40 under 40 Awards
- 2016 重庆南滨特区超高层绿色生态空间设计优秀奖
- 2014 Design for Asia Award Merit Recognition 香港年度亚洲最具影响力设计优异奖
- 2014 Re-Thinking Future Award (优异奖)
- 2012 The Third China Media Architecture Award Nomination
第三届中国建筑传媒奖--最佳建筑奖提名
- 2012 Glass House Collection '13 竞赛 (二等奖)
