"buildings
must tell a story"
The site of the sales pavilion for Dynasty Real Estate is located in the city of Tongan, a twenty minute drive north of Xiamen. Existing homes and factories will be demolished for the new development. We wanted the sales pavilion to represent both past and future. It was decided to use materials and shapes that were common to the area. I have tried to invoke a shared philosophy amongst the Fujian people " we like buildings that tell a story".
The roof plan and parti is derived from Chinese script.
The "story" is told using the transition of space through three phases of the pavilion that employ references to the materials and vernacular architecture of the city. You enter the first phase at ground level through a two story structure fabricated from the reclaimed yellow stone of the dwellings that once stood on the site. Rough cut wood beams support the exterior walls at mid-point of the interior giving the appearance of a second floor structure that has been removed.
Stairs lead to the suspended glass walkway over the reflecting pool into the second phase of the main structure. The journey through the pavilion ends at the exterior courtyard, where the remains of a wall structure from one of the factories on the site becomes the backdrop of the rear courtyard. The wall also serves as the source of the waters that travel from the courtyard to the reflecting pool that borders the entrance to the first phase of the pavilion.
Copyright © 1999 Studio M
