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Yunlu Wetland Exhibition Hall of Heron is located at Shunde Yunlun Wetland Park, next to the bird sanctuary island where 25,000 herons live. The building is the combination of bird observation tower and wetland gallery, meant to provide visitors a special bird watching experience and raise their awareness of the wetland ecosystem. The building sits behind a row of existing sequoia forest, hidden in the woods, to minimize the existence. It consists of four vertically stacked concrete tubes, each of which is rotated to optimize view, with the first to fourth floors looking out to the roots, trunks, crowns, and treetops of the trees, acting like four camera viewfinders, allowing one to see the activities of the herons on the trees at different heights throughout the day.
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To protect the local environment, the building footprint is designed to minimize removal of native trees on the site. After mapping the 560 existing trees, we locate the building carefully and rotate the massing of each level to avoid confliction with trees while capturing good view. Previously, public access to the area has been very limited. Some people would sneak into the sanctuary island to watch herons closely. This behavior can frighten herons to abandon their babies and leave the island. We hope the new exhibition hall would provide a place where people and birds can observe each other and coexist in harmony.
The construction process will go through heron’s breeding season. We avoid use of heavy machinery that might disturb the herons on the island. The building adopts box-type concrete structure, with each tube's sidewalls, top and bottom slabs work jointly and provide an overall support against the load. The façade is cast-in-place pine-molded concrete. The fine grain of pine wood gives a natural texture to the façade, echoing the surrounding forest. The roof of the building is covered by a lotus pond, and the ecological water feature weakens the presence of the building on the fifth elevation so that the herons would not be intimidated by the four-story structure.
A large triangular atrium connects the four-story volume together. Above the atrium is a skylight where sunlight, filtered through the top and softened by deep beams, enters the interior of the building. Underneath the skylight is the physical model of the wetland park. Standing in the middle of the atrium, one can see three viewfinder windows at the same time, in which three carefully selected nature views are embedded. Being in the building, wrapped in soft natural light, one can feel the flow of seasons, the harmonious coexistence of different species and the magic of nature through the viewfinder window.
We found the idea of the building as viewfinder frames to be unique. The interaction of the building with herons at different heights is very interesting. The building finds a good balance between the viewer and the viewed. As the largest public building in the Yunlu Wetland Park, this project is sure to be one of the most exciting nodes when completed.
Based in New York City, Studio Link-Arc, LLC is an international team of architects and designers. Our name, Link-Arc, refers to the practice’s collaborative nature as well as the company’s mission, which is to work across disciplines to create strategy and design in the fields of urban planning, architecture, spatial art and landscape. We accomplish this by linking knowledge, resources, and intelligence, from multiple perspectives and diverse backgrounds.
Our body of work includes innovative projects at all scales. We see the relationship between architecture and context as an opportunity to create new context, new nature and a new understanding of the world. Through research, we uncover the essential truths unique to each project, and use those truths to create concepts and to shape form. We endeavor to create refined works of architecture. We create spaces that promote contemplation and imagination and provide quiet satisfaction through the simple act of occupation.
