Wetland Honghao, watching the scenery in all directions, welcoming visitors from all directions——The 30th Anniversary of China's Implementation of the Ramsar Convention (Wuhan East Lake)

Wetland Honghao, watching the scenery in all directions, welcoming visitors from all directions——The 30th Anniversary of China's Implementation of the Ramsar Convention (Wuhan East Lake)

Wetlands are precious resources of the earth, which are of positive significance for mitigating climate change, protecting water resources, maintaining biodiversity and increasing carbon sequestration. In the 51 years since the signing of the World Wetland Convention, there have been 172 contracting parties, 43 wetland cities identified by the organization, and as many as 13 in China, ranking first in the world.

On November 5, 2022, with Wuhan as the main venue, China hosted the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Wetlands. At the same time, an exhibition hall for the 30th anniversary of China's fulfillment of the Convention on Wetlands was built on Luoyan Island in East Lake.

East Lake is a typical representative of Chinese wetlands. The Luoyan Scenic Area where this project is located has unique scenery and many birds. Building an exhibition hall here can best reflect the consistency of the exhibition content and the location. According to the protection requirements in the general regulations of the East Lake Scenic Area, the height, volume and style of new buildings need to be strictly controlled. All parties reached a consensus: to transform a group of abandoned buildings on Luoyan Island in East Lake by means of low-intensity intervention.

We hope to revitalize and regenerate the abandoned industrial water plant through design, while retaining the memory of the place, and implanting new cultural scenes and display functions. The original building area was too small, so a basement was dug on the backwater side as a multimedia exhibition hall. The factory space is tall and exceeds the space required by general exhibitions. Therefore, a mezzanine is made on the side facing the lake to form a contemporary exhibition hall that combines multiple display methods of text, objects and multimedia, and combines multiple spaces on the ground, in the air and underground. The old water plant was born because of industry, abandoned because of environmental protection, and now it is reborn because of wetlands, and the recyclable living environment is endless.

The old roof of the original factory building is relatively dull, which is incompatible with the beautiful environment of East Lake. Referring to the shape of the wings of waterfowls, combined with the bending curve of traditional Chinese wooden buildings, we designed a single-slope roof with far-reaching eaves, and set up a mezzanine in the high-side space facing the lake, which is a viewing platform; According to the logic of "made in the open", the entire structure is exposed to show the expressive wooden structure system under the eaves. Some people have seen the movement of birds spreading their wings, some have seen the shadow of chime bells unearthed in Hubei, and some have seen the momentum of nine-headed birds. The ambiguous interpretation of architectural forms endows this group of buildings with more connotations.

The double-curved roof means that the curved primary and secondary beams must be used, which is a huge challenge to the traditional manufacturing process. However, in the digital age, the whole process of digital technology and robotic arms can easily complete the "non-linear" process from CAD to CAM to CAE. Seam" connection, fully realize the design expectation.

How to build in the scenic area? This is an old question involving values and methodology. Some people think that designing antique buildings is a reliable way to coordinate with the environment, while others think that "coordination" is a false proposition. "Coordination" is entirely a subjective judgment that varies from person to person. Contemporaneity is the goal that contemporary architects should pursue. This project intends to explore a way to create buildings that belong to the here and now in a humble way.