Place and historyThe project began with an abandoned Hoffman brick kiln. The site of the kiln 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 condition declined to a collapsing condition eventually. 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 site. We decided that the memory and history of the old 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.
Inner courtyard overlooking tower. Image © Zhi Geng

Architects: Interval Architects

Location: Hengshui Botanic Park, Hebei Province, China

Principal In Charge: Oscar KO, Yunduan GU

Design Team: Oscar KO, Yunduan GU, Zexing YUE, Xianmei HU, Jing CHEN, Jin HUANG

Area: 2065.0 m2

Project Year: 2018

Photographs: Zhi Geng

Associate Design Institutes: Orient Liho, Beijing New Era Architectural Design Ltd.

Client: Hengshui Botanic Park

Overlooking west façade by the lake. ...