Min Zhuo - A Pavilion made of bamboo to host the Ginkgo Valley Rafting Center
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A Pavilion made of bamboo to host the Ginkgo Valley Rafting Center

Min Zhuo

Special Projects  /  Completed
Min Zhuo

The villagers of Ginkgo Valley of Changxing decided to take advantage of their beautiful running creek to start rafting business. A tourist center is planned at the head of the creek to facilitate the basic needs of rafting, as well as a recreation center for villagers during the off-season. Budget is their primary concern. With that design purpose taken into account, the attitude toward the environment is as important and needs to be addressed. We chose bamboo as the major construction material to be woven into a huge pavilion to cover the public space of this project, as it is a natural resource that is widely grown in this preserved scenic area. The pavilion is shaped into a gigantic abstract and metaphoric “fish”, curling around and heading toward the creek, bearing a good meaning of prosperity and making itself a new landmark of Ginkgo Valley. With bamboo’s light weight and mechanical property of excellent bending performance, regular column-beam system is neither a good structural match, nor an aesthetic one. A bamboo-strip envelope is adopted in this project, acting like a tensile membrane structure. With 9 meter high and almost 100 meter long, it is yet a big challenge to pin down and weave bamboo slats into a “bamboo membrane” with such big scale. Vertically tilted bamboo trusses with different curves and sizes, which we call “bamboo bows”, are calculated by parametric software and set every two meters as a frame to support and adjust the shape of the curved surface of the bamboo strip mesh. It is very hot and humid in the summer in this valley. This bamboo pavilion provides excellent shelter against sunshine without losing brightness. With both ends open, the tunnel like interior space generated by the fish shape of the pavilion allows superior natural ventilation without any additional air conditioning equipment. With birds flying in and out during construction, the openness of this pavilion also proves it to be a bird friendly space in this valley. Local farmers are skilled in weaving bamboo baskets and other bamboo crafts. With on-site mock-up to demonstrate the unique bamboo structure of this project, a group of local farmers with experience of bamboo craftsmanship were hired to work as weaving specialists for this project. By the usage of bamboo, the villagers are happy to see the cost of construction and future maintenance well under budget, as well as some work opportunities kept local. What is more important is that local bamboo craft is passed down in a more practical way through this experimental project, in regard of preservation of this intangible cultural heritage.

Credits

 Changxin
 China
 Zhejiang Zhenhai Investment Company
 05/2020
 2500 mq
 Min Zhuo
 Sangshuang Liu
 Min Zhuo

Curriculum

Prof. Min Zhuo has been teaching in School of Architecture, China Academy of Arts, since 2010. He is currently serving as head of the Department of Urban Design, director of graduate program, and chair of architectural academic committee in the school. He has been focusing on rediscovery and reinterpretation of vernacular materials in the background of recent unprecedented urbanization in China.
Prof. Min Zhuo is also Class 1 Registered Architect in China. He and his team are striving to help rural communities to improve their built environment and achieve sustainable development.

Tag

#Finalist #China  #Leisure  #Bamboo  #Bamboo Structure  #Min Zhuo  #Changxin  #Multifunctional Building - Complex 

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