Heart of Glass 09084952408
Heart of Glass
1
Conceptual idea mainly derived from the exploration of the city’s public space utilizations, as well as its culture and heritage. Rich cultural heritage and particular modalities of public space utilization in China were taken into serious consideration and the final design was substantially influenced by these facets of Chinese city life in general. One of the characteristics that are underlined is the spatial flexibility and the possibility of choice and deliberation by the users of these places. Every station can be easily altered to house a wide variety of functions (e.g. playgrounds, exhibition space, dance practice‌ etc.). Robust panels and construction ensure ease of use and a long lifespan of newly renovated stations. On a broader scale, the four chosen station are interconnected with consistent utilization of material and modular design, most prominent in pavement design, giving the whole area a new flavor and making it instantly recognizable in the wider city context.
2100
900 600
R evitalizing th e L o c a l C enter of Q inhuangdao
_ Site Selection
A ct ivit y and Mat erial based Design
A M in im u m Re n o va t io n o f M a xim u m E ff e ct
_ Concept
_ Diagram
600
300 900
900
Renovation Procedure Rev ita lizing th e r ailwa y
Fl exi bl e St r uct ur es
Site selection was done in accordance with the competition brief, as well as the desire to put forth to concept of urban acupuncture, as one of the main
Public Activities in Qinhuangdao can be described as somewhat accidental
generators of active spatial usage and a possible catalyst for solving problems
event, since it is common for local residents to spontaneously create public
that are currently found on a broader scale of Qinhuangdao. Initial potential
spaces by bringing chairs, tables and other furnitures by themselves. Inspired
of revitalizing the industrial heritage of the city, as well as one of the main
by such characteristics, our proposal is to provide structures that can be
transitional lines of the railway made perfect combination of qualities that ought to
easily transformed into human scale furnitures by opening,flipping and folding
be explored additionally in concept development and architectural design. Adding
each panel units from the walls which are arranged based on human body
to the fact that other stations could be found in a linear railway configuration
1. Existing structure
measurements.
added to the designed spatial quality and gave a decisive cue that the selected site could achieve maximum benefits for citizens, urban structure and city on a broader scale, with minimal interventions.
Selected stations Railway
Example of a common public activity - Water calligraphy
Greenery and public facilities Shopping area
2. Pillar Arrangement
3. Glass windows & Frames
Existing structure of the station is composed of concrete walls and
Preserve the original identity of the buliding by placing wooden pillar
Replace concrete walls with wooden frames with glass windows, which
iconic roofs, with few small windows. The aim of the renovation is to
tracing the arragement of openings in the former building.
are regenerated by merging unused glass fragments.
Creation of public space - Bringing in chairs for gathering
System Reuse of Local Gl ass Mat er i al
For P ede str ia n b a sed So ci e ty The governing bodies of Qinhuangdao are currently struggling to solve the traffic
Qinhuangdao has been famous for its contemporary glass Industry, introduced
congestions and illegal parking issues, caused by the development of an (over)
by the British in 1930s and ever since, the city has remained a major Chinese
motorized society, and tried to define urban strategies to mitigate such issues. The proposal site is not an exception when trying to solve these outstanding
center of the glass industry. The history of development of this industry can also
Deteriorated sidewalk
be seen in "Qinhuangdao Museum of Glass" which is located along Haiyang
issues; however, potential was found in providing an effective strategy by
road. Proposed design concept aims at reusing the glass leftovers produced from
connecting every individual abandoned railway stations by renovating them as a
the nearby glass factories, in order to reclaim them as glass panels that will be
center for local community, which will function as an infrastructure for pedestrian-
attached to the newly proposed structure. These glass panel not only represents
based society. Our future proposal advocates interconnection of such strategies on a broader scale, which will contribute in providing a strong foundation to realize attainable goals for a contemporary society.
Congested traffic Traffic situation around the site
the idea of attraction and flexibility, but also the ideal model of sustainability.
1. Door Openings Glass manufacture
Leftover glass for reuse
2. Pavement
3. Street Furnitures
Each walls can be flipped and folded just like doors corresponding to
Linear pavements invite local residents and pedestrians to the station
The panels composed of both glass and wood can be flipped in various
various activity and usage that occurs in the station.
from various direction, depending on the surrounding streets.
directions providing appropriate street furnitures for public activities.