Urban planning exhibition halls in China should be public buildings for citizens, but in reality, these buildings are largely used for government to attract investments. Therefore, a grand square built in the front helps to highlight the elevation of the box-like building. It is common in Chinese that public buildings only show the power of the authority, instead of serving the public. The project is located at the edge of a mountain park. If we take the common practice, the building has to step aside to make sure there is enough space for a grand square, which means we need to excavate the mountain and build a 10-meter-high wall. In this way, we occupy the park where people could have taken a walk, create an unnecessary square and a huge building filled with negative space. In order to preserve the park, we build part of the exhibition hall on stilts as public space, not just empty ones. The space in the shade allows not only for outdoors exhibitions but also people to take a stroll. So citizens will get closer to the hall and exhibitions. The roof transformed into an artificial hill with ups and downs integrates the hall into the mountain of the park, making the prominent feature of the design. The roof helps the preserved mountain become the landscape feature of the design, meanwhile, expands the area of the park. All in all, the architects intend to provide people with a public building as well as a larger and more interesting garden.
Aerial photo. Image ©...