unarchitecte shapes a floating islands bridge in luxelakes water city, china

a cluster of artificial islands and pontoon bridge

unarchitecte designed a cluster of artificial floating islands connected by pontoon platforms in luxelakes water city in sichuan province, china. seven hexagonal volumes of different sizes, covered with vegetation are carefully scattered in the water while made reachable through floating corridors. the architects sought to use materials similar to the color and texture of the lake to reflect the floating clouds in the sky. the design concept was to form a ‘disappearing’ structure through hiding and dissolving methods.‘walking on the clouds reflected in water, visitors will develop a sense of freedom of floating and an inside surging strength.’

there are different means to access the islands: above- or under-water. for those who don’t want to experience the wading path, they can drag the rope by the inflatable rafts to reach each artificial island. the islands connected by submerged trails are equipped with spaces for fishing, picnic, resting, and combined with light strips and spray devices to outline and enhance the atmosphere.all images courtesy of he yao, zhang hetian

a bridge that floats on the surface of the water

unarchitecte (found here) undertook the design of the ‘floating islands of sky’, aiming to connect the C9 food street of luxes’ island and the art work ‘chengdu rainbow hut’ designed by japanese artist tsuneo sekiguchi, spanning over a straight-line distance of more than 70 meters. the design required ‘creative design at low cost’ breakthroughs and trials of new forms and materials, a ten-year life cycle, and a later detachability. in addition to a strictly controlled cost, the design team had to face many difficulties due to changes in water level.

the architects partly set up water-permeable hydrophilic areas; when the pontoon bridge is without any additional load, a steel cable fixed at the bottom of the lake keeps the structure to the rated water level, avoiding sinking or shaking.

sand-blasting and embossed stainless steel were chosen to reflect the sky with quality of skid resistance. the hydrophilic area is partially perforated and water-permeable, getting rid of buoyancy. ‘three methods of docking transfer were proposed, one of which is to connect the near-shore hexagonal blocks with vertical slide rails, and adjust the buoyancy through the water storage within the blocks. this way, it obtains a suitable relative height to function as steps, to match the height difference caused by the change of the water level-during the dry period, from the slight superposition of the masses and gradual changes in the middle section to the significant staggered of the off-shore, while in the wet period, the whole is relatively flat’. in this way, the pontoon bridge obtained a dynamic change in accordance with the seasonal rise and fall of the water level.

in order to save the cost of construction as far as possible, and to meet the size of the water area, the scale of the two main islands was further reduced, and the relative position, as well as the texture of the islands, was adjusted. through the adoption of multiple means, reflective materials, hydrophilic vegetation and hill form, there was contrast and combination between natural and artificial landscape, whereby this principle was adequately followed from the overall layout to all details of islands. furthermore, islands of different sizes were aligned to the same elevation with bob-weight, even though the density of preservative-treated timber and steels whose local parts may contain air cannot be determined accurately.

‘up to now, we have taken down one branch for experiment, and for the rest main pontoon bridge, its shape and form will be changed again after a use period, continuing to become a dream place for people to get close to the sky and the lake.’ the pontoon bridge will be partially invisible between water and sky with a supply of practicability and fun.

four or five scales of regular hexagons

the footpaths are parallel to the edge of hexagonal islands, and further strengthen the overall connectivity and molecular-like spatial structure

reflective materials, hydrophilic vegetation and hill form, there was contrast and combination between natural and artificial landscape

spray devices outline and enhance the atmosphere

getting closer to the sky and the lake

light strips outline and highlight the atmosphere

project info:

name: floating islands of sky
architects: unarchitecte

architect in charge: zhang hetian

design team: zhang hetian, fan yonggang, zhang jinxian, xuxuan, liu qi, liu jing

construction company: unarchitecte, superstructure

collaborators: superstructure

completion year: 2021

gross built area: 346.5 sqm

location: luxelakes water city, chengdu, sichuan province, china

clients: wide horizon group, A8 design center

photography: he yao, zhang hetian

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: christina petridou | designboom