Located in south of China, Haikou is a coastal city famous for its tropical scenery and coastal features with diverse tropical resources and charming sights. With the development on the west coast of Haikou, parks are being regarded as display spaces unfolding the characteristics and the culture of the city principally.
At the end of 2019, MUDA-Architects was commissioned by the owner to design a visitor center in Haikou West Coast Southern Park, aiming to blend the indigenous spiritual and cultural heritage into local peculiarities while respecting the site and the nature.
The visitor center sits at the entrance of the first phase of Haikou West Coast Southern Park, where a main road passes and the north underground parking lot is constructed. The proposal should be a landmark revealing features of city based on the consideration of natural ecology. In addition, the designed architecture should conform to the overall planning layout of the park, manipulates the curved boundaries of the site in harmony with the landscape and context. At the same time, it is also necessary to consider the local characteristics and adapt to the local tropical climate for weaving coastal culture of Hainan into design.
The architecture is devised in a shape of oval pebble polished by tidal water. It is inlaid at the entrance of the park and merged with the surrounding landscape layout to provide uniqueness in visual experience. Meanwhile, the design learns from the thatched roof of local traditional cottages for its adaption to the local climate. To be innovative, the traditional roof silhouette is converted in a mirroring result to shelter visitors from the intense sunshine and large precipitation. On the premise of meeting the basic requirements as a shelter, it also combines the tradition with the modern and responses to tropical marine climate.
Tempered hollow glass curtain wall is adopted to install the ethereal façade with a sense of permeable visually, which allows tourists to enjoy the landscape views from the interior space. Perforated aluminum sunshade panels are fixed on the glass curtain wall in a rhythm of lengths forming an undulating wave to express the coastal features. Meanwhile, panels add more interests to the façade and reduce the direct sunlight in order to help in energy saving.
In terms of layout, the architecture is elliptical, which smoothly fits in the organic curves of surrounding landscape. The inner courtyard leaning to one side contracts with the architectural space as a combination of void-solid spaces to generate a transition in spatial experience from the exterior to interior. The continuous curved roof tiled with white aluminum metal sheets, unifies the indoor and outdoor spaces, and provides a spacious space for people to have a rest.
The curvilinear roof extends from the exterior to the interior space, and forms the spatial framework which is then filled with staggered box spaces various in height. Moreover, the shuttle-shaped stainless steel column with a brushed finish, runs through the whole space serving as structural support and enriches the spatial experience on site.
MUDA-Architects accentuates the respect for nature, pursues innovations, and emphasizes genius loci and contemporary approach. With the theme of communicating with natural ecology, the design fully embodies the characteristics of the site, and the architectural form is blended into the park and the context organically. The collision of tradition and innovation and the contrast between the void and solid architectural spaces, create a new experiential tourist center collectively.
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