While wooden frame structures are quite common in North America, in China, concrete, steel and brick have long been favored as the sturdier building product. Bohlin Cywinski Jackson's new Tsingtao Pearl Visitor Center represents an international collaboration to reestablish lumbered building materials in the world's largest construction market.
Though there is a long ancient tradition of building in wood in the country, lumber has fallen out of favor in modern times due to a pervasive notion that wood is unsafe and too expensive. In 2001, a US tariff on Canadian wood caused their lumber industry to start opening new export markets for lumber and China became a primary focus. These efforts were joined by a number of international companies and organizations, that have put large efforts into promoting timber structures and growing the market in China.
The traditional architecture of the area is composed of stone plinths and curved roof forms
China has a strong need for supplementary construction materials, which bodes well for wood. Chinese authorities also need to deliver good examples of how they will reduce carbon emissions—another good argument in favor of wood, which has a minimal carbon footprint as well as other environmental benefits.
Advocating for the potential of wood design, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson's Tsingtao Pearl Visitor Center is a showcase structure highlighting its benefits; the head architect and engineer for the project were both contacted after giving independent lectures at a Chinese University on wood construction as a sustainable strategy.
The center reinterprets historic precedent using modern materials and innovation to accommodate current Chinese culture. For now, the building will act a marketing center and tea bar. As the development sells its homes, the building will be converted into a visitor center and restaurant for both residents and public visitors to the Pearl Hill Preserve.
The traditional architecture of the area is composed of stone plinths and curved roof forms. Referencing this, the building has a heavy stone base and a cloud-like, undulating roof that frames views of the Pearl Hill ridge line. Native vegetation on the roof further blends the structure into the landscape and a forest of columns calls back to the bamboo groves located at the entry drive.
Project: Tsingtao Pearl Visitor Center
Location: Qingdao, China
Client: Qingdao Vanke Real Estate Co., Ltd.
Size: 22,000 SF
Design Team: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Robert Miller, FAIA, Principal
Jeremy Evard, AIA, Project Manager
Alan Dodson, Adam Pazan
Consultants
Local Architect: Architectural Design & Research Institute of Tongii University (Group) Co. Ltd.
General Contractor: StructureCraft Builders (Canada); Shanghai SKF Builder (China)
Structural Engineer: Fast + Epp
Landscape Architect: Landscape Design Inc.
Landscape Architect of Record: Qingdao Beiyang Architectural Design company Ltd.
Wood Consultant: Forestry Innovation Investment China
Interior Design: Archi Design Agency
Lighting Designer: Shanghai Yanghui Lighting Design company Ltd.
2 Comments
nice, looks like a refinement of the tetons visitor center.
BCJ would have been the superior choice for Apple HQ. whoops!
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