Viewing Pavilion on Hill. Trace Architecture Office
03/07/2013.
By Hua Li. [Weihai] Shandong, China
metalocus, ROBERTO ALIA
metalocus, ROBERTO ALIA
Project Synopsis by TAO
The pavilion is located in woods on the hill of TashanPark in Weihai, a coastline city in Shandong. To protect the trees in site and offer the view to major sights of city, the building is conceived as a merged volume with three viewing tubes like tree branches orientating to different axis. Half buried and half cantilevered, the building provides to the visitor different experience on two levels: walking down half level, one will enter the inside of teahouse and gallery space with framed views to various scenery; walking up through the preserved trees in landscape to the roof terrace, one will enjoy a unfolded breathtaking panoramic view to the ocean on this viewing platform.
Text.- TAO
CREDITS.-
Project.- Viewing Pavilion on Hilll.
Location.- Weihai, Shandong, China.
Architect.- Hua Li / TAO (Trace Architecture Office).
Design team.- HUA Li, Jiang Nan, Yu Haiwen.
Program.- Terrace of Viewing, Gallery, Tearoom, Office.
Plot area.- 1380 m2.
Built area.- 256 m2.
Construction.- 2011-2012.
Photography.- Yao Li, Hua Li.
Construction company: Weihai Construction Group Inc.
Client.- Weihai Bereau of Landscape and Forestry.
TAO (Trace Architecture Office) founded by architect Hua Li in Beijing in 2009, is one of the most active design teams in China's construction industry today.
In the practice of TAO, architecture is not only seen as a formal object, but as an organism that is inseparable from its environment, as most of its projects are located in sites with distinct natural and historical features. The design practice creates an architecture and landscaping rooted in regional culture and environment by deepening the meaning of the building and making full use of the site’s conditions. The discussion of the spirit of the venue, climate response, the rational use of local resources, local materials and construction methods constitute the core content of each TAO project.
TAO's main design works include: Yunnan Handcraft Paper Museum (2010), Xiaoquan Elementary School Post-Disaster Reconstruction (2010), Wuyishan Bamboo Raft Factory (2013), Forest Building (2015), TiensTiens Cafe (2015). TAO has won the Asian Construction Association Award, the 2013 Akahan International Architecture Award, the 2012 Global Design Pioneer and Best Public Architecture Award, the China Architecture Media Award Young Architect Award and the WA Architecture Award. The firm’s works have been exhibited in important architectural exhibitions in Venice, New York, Berlin, Beijing, Shanghai among others, and have been widely published internationally.