Submitted by WA Contents
say architects designed ceremony hall with "floating and dancing curtains" in Guangzhou
China Architecture News - Jul 26, 2022 - 10:46 2262 views
Chinese architecture firm say architects has designed a public and ceremony hall with "floating and dancing like three curtains" in Guangzhou, China.
Named The Levitated Curtain – Xi Hall, the 370-square-metre is located in a resort in the outskirts of Guangzhou, the Levitated Curtain is conceived as an iconic building for wedding ceremonies and public events.
"In Guangzhou, weddings usually start at 7 am, but the ceremony only begins around 6 pm," said say Architects.
Image © BreezeImage
Xi Hall will serve as a multifunctional space for dining, photo shooting, reception and several other purposes in the day, and becomes a sacred place for the wedding ceremony at nightfall.
Image © BreezeImage
When there are no weddings, Xi Hall, which sits in the center of the resort, will be a perfect location for sightseeing and allow public events for different occasions.
Image © Junning Yang
Wok Room
To create a unique streamline of Xi Hall, the studio was inspired from the Wok Room, a traditional residential architecture from Lingnan area of China that featured with wok-handle-shaped pediment.
"Wok is a cooking pot originated from China, the hump in the middle of the pediment looks like the handle of the wok, then it is called Wok Wall, which helps to block the wind or the fire, and serves as a main bearing structure of a house," said the studio.
Image © Junning Yang
The architects abstracted the shape of a wok wall and applied it to the east and west elevation of Xi Hall, by which two wok-wall-shaped openings were created. They are also connecting the interior to the outdoor landscape.
Between the walls with the special openings, there is a curved roofsloping towards the grassland in the north like an elegantly draped curtain.
Image © BreezeImage
Floating Curtains
Looking through the void of the "wok walls", the dark curved roofs is floating and dancing like three curtains. The structure under the ceiling is painted white, almost invisible if you look at the building from the east or the west perspective; when the lights come into the hall through the U-shaped glass wall, the entire building is calmly “floating” above the ground. When the night falls, the space is illuminated from the inside, then the sense of volume is highlighted with the light, making the architecture a Kongming lantern that is about to levitate, bringing blessings to the nature and the people here.
Image © Junning Yang
The curtain-like streamlined roof endows the building with an embracing gesture, holding mountains, forests and rivers into its arms, thus a space of spirit and nature was created, allowing more air and light to flow into the building, and bringing out a demeanor of floating in the stillness.
Image © Junning Yang
Open and Connected
As a place for gathering and sharing, the architect looks forward to bringing more flexibility to the space to connect the activities inside the hall and the fabulous landscape outside.
Eventually it is a completely open space, adding a romantic touch to the spirituality of nature witha modest but welcoming gesture.
Image © Junning Yang
The architect also designed an Ω-shaped corridor attached to the hall, echoing with the wok-wall-shaped openings while connecting the hall with the nature behind. Along the path, people will witness the important moment of a wedding when the father is taking his daughter to the groom.
At nightfall, the setting sun cast its golden lights through the wok-wall-shaped openings to the couple as well as every corner of the space. The open structure enables Xi Hall with more functions. When there is no wedding, people can enjoy multiple activities here, including dining, lectures, gatherings or simply taking a rest.
Image © Junning Yang
"The green lush inside the resort indulges the visitors in the tranquility and peacefulness, then the graceful and serene Xi hall lightened people’s eyes upon their arrival. A bride who celebrated her wedding here once said," say architects.
I wanted to wall in here with my barefoot," the office added.
Image © Junning Yang
Image © Junning Yang
Image © Breezeimage
Image © Breezeimage
Image © Breezeimage
Image © Junning Yang
Image © Junning Yang
Image © Junning Yang
Image © Junning Yang
Image © Breezeimage
Image © Breezeimage
Image © Junning Yang
Image © BreezeImage
Image © BreezeImage
Image © BreezeImage
Floor plan
Sketch
East elevation - East section
say architects previously reinterpreted a ten decades old building as a new store in Nanyu street of Hangzhou, China. The studio designed a new flagship store for Panasonic in Hangzhou.
Project facts
Project name: The Levitated Curtain – Xi Hall
Client: Guangzhou Conghua Ketianxia
Status: completed
Year: 2021
Area: 370sqm
Location: Ketianxia resort, Conghua, Guangzhou
Program: Cultural
Design: say architects
Partner in charge: Yan Zhang, Jianan Shan
Team: Yawen Fan (team leader), Sheng Hang, Siyun He(physical model), Jin Ye (physical model), Jiaming Zhu (diagram), Rui Yang (diagram), Su Jingting (production drawing）
Lighting design: YAANK lighting design
Masterplan and landscape EPC: L&A Design
Soft outfit: L&A Design
Top image © Junning Yang
All images © Breezeimage – Guozhe, Junning Yang
All drawings © say architects
> via say architects