How prominent does a riverfront stepped arena present to its public? In Huanglong village, a mesmerizing structure knotted using bamboo rises as a sculptural fabric within the rich historical context. Huanglong Waterfront Bamboo Pavilion stands solemnly supplementing in the Huanglong Ancient Village, Beijiao, Foshan, Guangdong Province designed by Atelier cnS, School of Architecture and the South China University of Technology. Its context heralds the 600-year-old Hulong Bridge and the 300-year-old Du’s Ancestral Hall, captivating its surroundings with a timeless flair.
In ancient times, the village used to be called “Baijiao”, which means “hundred interlaced rivers and dense water network”. The creation of numerous public spaces interspersed into the town populating it with enlivening activities. Those integrated naturally close-to-water became camps for residents to live, chat and entertain.
In search of a stimulating site, the designers found that villagers often went fishing and took activities at the waterfront descending steps in the park. The installation of a shade gave the place a refreshing outlook transforming it into a popular hangout space for villagers and tourists. The waterfront bamboo corridor espouses a double-sided cantilever method, utilizing the original bamboos to conceive an integrated curvy design. The steps provide ample space about the waterfront, alluding to the Bamboo Pavilion as a multi-functional recreational space, water theatre and wharf as one sculptural enigma.
Inspired from Changqi Stadium’s Bamboo Gallery, the Huanglong Waterfront Bamboo Pavilion throttles its contemporary craft and creation in low-carbon raw bamboo materials. The elements combine to instil an aesthetic feeling of traditional bamboo woven in rural areas. The flying fabric provides a grey space supported by minimal columns, transparent and shelters from the wind and rain.
Staggered joints were spliced to accomplish a long overhang utilizing the beam-column of the original bamboo and the hidden steel skeleton to achieve the ergonomic shape. Crisscrossing bamboo strips weave the surface with exciting light and shadow fluctuations. The skin effect increases the stability and integrity of the overall umbrella-shaped structure, and a transparent waterproof film is laid over the top to shield it from rain. The upgrade from unilateral cantilever to bilateral cantilever blurs the distinction between the front and back of the Bamboo Pavilion. The structure is optimized with a reduced diameter of the bamboo column and maximized cantilever depth. The diameter of the umbrella cover ranges to 9.3 meters.
The brilliant team of designers and executors explored the building technology that is more suitable for the logical use of bamboo and climate adaptation. In the design, the two-dimensional curve is fitted to the three-dimensional bidirectional curved cantilever structure. As the construction remains two-dimensional and flat, being more conducive to promoting and applying bamboo construction. The Huanglong Waterfront Bamboo Pavilion strikingly soars in its own ravishing beauty and functionality.
Architects: Atelier cnS, School of Architecture, South China University of Technology
Area: 120 m²
Photographs: Ruibo Li, Li Chen
Lead Architects: Guanqiu Zhong, Gang Song, Zhiyuan Zhu
Design Team: Hairui Lin, Wenxuan Huang, Wenjing Xiao, Ruibo Li, Jinwang Hou
Leading Teacher(School Of Architecture, South China University Of Technology): Guanqiu Zhong
Design Team(School Of Architecture, South China University Of Technology): Wenhao Zhang, Wenchu Zhang, Yuhao Huang, Zhixian Tan, Yuliang Feng, Yaowen Hu, Yanzhen Chen, Yu Du, Xiangling Li, Yixuan Zeng, Yuran Luo, Ruowen Jiang
City: Foshan
Country: China
