traditional chinese craftsmanship inspires exhibition space by continuation studio

located by the yunlong lake in xuzhou, occupying over a million square meters, the launched project vanke future town is a grand community with abundant landscape resources, wherein the demonstration area designed by continuation studio makes the entrance to the land, which will set the tone for the whole ongoing project. the sales exhibition centre (which will later be converted into a community centre) is designed to be in proportion with and reflect the vast scale of the future town and the geographical structure of the city.

the launched project vanke future town is a grand community with abundant landscape resources
all images © SHIROMIO Studio

small spaces for the entrance hall, screening rooms, separate meeting an service rooms, etc., are concentrated in the east wing, ensuring a single piece of large–scale space for exhibition in the main building. this layout has granted the main building an open floor plan to achieve the multiple functions that it requires for exhibitions and as a community centre. meanwhile, the glass facade is visible from the city, it reduces the architectural volume connecting the pavilion with external space, enhancing the building’s public characteristic. however, in contrary to its sheer appearance, there is a set of exceedingly complex and exquisite structure inside.

exceedingly complex and exquisite structure inside the main building

‘in 2009, I visited a few ancient timber arch bridges (beijian bridge, xidong bridge, xuezhai bridge and the santiao bridge) in taishun, wenzhou, and its surrounding area in person‘, says fan jiu-jiang, the founder of continuation studio. ‘looking up to the overlapping short timbers constructing a long-span structure, I was smitten by the beauty of its form, scale and the wisdom of the craftsmen. I since then had been revisiting them in later years.’ 

the bridge structure is introduced into the large-scale exhibition space

since xuezhai bridge was demolished by the flood in 2016, the studio has been studying these traditional bridges and hand modeling their long-span structure constructed of short timbers, as a tribute to the traditional chinese craftsmanship, in order to apply its structural beauty to their projects in the future. as in this project, the bridge structure is introduced into the large-scale exhibition space, as a piece of expressive element to be viewed from below, as a demonstration of vanke’s technical strength and value. 

the structure is reflected in the water

the structure is reflected in the water patio in front of the main space. 600 mm x 200 mm glued laminated timbers with different lengths are used as basic components. moreover, the part which works as a horizontal fulcrum between the upper and lower timbers in the original bridge structure, is replaced by steel tubes, which now support the timbers by weaving in where they interlock together. with this approach, different from the unidirectional arch, the new structure performs for pressure-bearing, it establishes a system of continuous triangles and inverted triangles, which slopes rather gently in comparison to the original. 

architects attempted to apply the structure as a ceiling that acts as a part of a force bearing structure

when this set of wood structure is finally put up as a permanent art piece inside of the showcase with pellucid glass curtain walls on all sides, the feeling that the history and traditions have been lost in time is recalled to our present. the authenticity of the structure and the recreation of the spatial impression the authenticity of the structure and the recreation of the spatial impression have been discussed repeatedly in the studio as the project progresses. as architects attempted to apply the structure as a ceiling that acts as a part of a force bearing structure, its stiffness and bearing capacity has gone through calculation to meet the requirements. 

the force bearing structure forms with a group of pillars is still not able to resist lateral force when being up in mid-air.  it is supported by a group of 8 steel columns and suspended from steel beams hidden in a roof above. it also endows a visual sensation of floating to the space, when the suspended lumbersome looking timber piece appears to be levitating in the air, making a striking contrast with the lightsome roof above. the recreation of impression on the place from where we gazed upon the bridge underneath is effectuated.

vanke future town occupies over a million square meters

other spaces are concentrated in the east wing

the layout has granted the main building an open floor plan

demonstration area will set the tone for the whole ongoing project

the centre is designed to reflect the vast scale of the future town

entrance lobby

project info:

architects: continuation studio lead architects: fan jiu-jiang, zhai wen-ting, yu kai, shen feng-jia, dong run-jin (intern)
location: xuzhou, jiangsu
area: approx. 1200 sqm (incl. 600 sqm exhibition centre)
client: china vanke vo., Lltd. (xuzhou branch)
consultants: shanghai wansheng architectural design consultant
landscape designer: guangzhou s.p.i landscape group
interior designer: vvs architect (shanghai branch)
lighting designer: shanghai pinguang lighting design
technical drawings: jiangsu huasheng architectural design
timber structure engineer: zytimber (shanghai)
curtain wall designer: shanghai anxun exterior wall engineering design, forster engineering consulting (nanjing)
curtain wall construction: Jjangsu hwa curtain wall building
photography: SHIROMIO studio

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: maria erman | designboom