Image Credit : S.P.I Design
Project Overview
Sino Palace, Shangqiu, transcends the city's local brand influence, establishing itself as a landmark of its time and a spiritual symbol of Shangqiu City. In designing an aisle space that balances artistic installations with ceremonial grandeur, the design team elevated the vision to a creation that embodies a national mission and cultural confidence.
With the design paradigm of Chinese modern art, the project deeply explores local culture, integrating its essence into the landscape. The result is a refined expression of "modern form with a traditional soul," reflecting the contemporary essence of modern Chinese living.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Guangzhou S.P.I Design Co., Ltd.
Team
Hu Sun, Songmin Liu, Xiaosan Liang, Kenan Xin, Jingwen Chen, Xiaodong Liang, Long Kuang, Jiaqun Hong, Wenyu Fan, Songlin Mo, Zhenlin Yang, Jie Wang, Weiqing Wang, Yan Chen
Project Brief
The entrance design is a striking fusion of time and space, bridging East and West, ancient and modern, city and nature.
It reinterprets and layers the glass pyramid of the Louvre with the binding techniques of ancient Chinese bamboo scrolls, blending historical essence with contemporary craftsmanship. This fusion creates a space rich in poetry and imagination, offering a profound response to the classic saying:
"Reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles."
As the primary gateway to the community, the entrance ensures a division of pedestrian and vehicular circulation, while incorporating a hotel-style lobby and rest area for both functionality and comfort.
Extending from the entrance and urban interface, the 100-meter cascading waterfall draws inspiration from nature. Beyond serving as a landmark of grandeur, the waterfall fosters a tranquil ambiance, allowing residents to experience the subtle yet profound enrichment of a space where time, space, and culture harmoniously converge.
Project Innovation/Need
The entrance presents a harmonious fusion of Eastern and Western aesthetics. Its architectural design transcends conventional boundaries, combining the grandeur of Eastern imperial palace gates and noble manors with the striking transparency of the Louvre's glass pyramid in Paris. The golden cascade and jade-toned portals, adorned with soaring tiles and radiant brilliance, create an almost otherworldly ambiance. As a commanding "visual anchor," the entrance captivates passersby, drawing them into a mesmerizing, timeless sensory experience.
Within the entrance, the roof serves as both a functional element and a striking centerpiece of interior design. Beyond its structural role, it becomes a delicate exhibit in itself. The intricate framework pays homage to the vast literary collections of ancient scholars, reinterpreting classical architectural forms. The precisely layered interlocking brackets evoke the ethereal lightness of clouds, showing the graceful evolution of traditional Eastern motifs in a contemporary context.
History and modernity, nature and artifice, indoor and outdoor spaces, light and shadow, and the five senses all converge in perfect harmony. This fusion inspires a deep appreciation for life, embodying an aesthetic that integrates cultural heritage with spatial design.
Design Challenge
The crystalline glass tile façade takes inspiration from the ancient Chinese art of bamboo scroll binding. To achieve flawless execution, the design team collaborated with a precision glass workshop to craft over 2,000 custom glass pieces, while one of China’s leading hardware manufacturers engineered customized "connector claws". A specialized assembly team was enlisted to ensure meticulous on-site installation. Through the collective expertise of all involved, the envisioned dreamlike and majestic aesthetic was realized. The façade’s lighting design accentuates the tile contours, highlighting the material's texture and intricacy while amplifying the façade’s layered, crystalline brilliance.
For the stone construction, master artisans from southern China were commissioned to hand-chisel 187,000 pieces of Binzhou bluestone. Each stone, precisely cut to a 5-centimeter thickness, was stacked in 110 layers. Seventeen craftsmen dedicated 77 days to the manual installation, carefully laying the stones in a staggered pattern. One of the key challenges was material wastage - after machine cutting, each slab required additional hand-forging, a meticulous process that resulted in approximately 10% wastage during transportation and processing.
The conical water curtain wall at the corner demanded exacting calculations and precision cutting to ensure a continuous flow, eliminating dry patches and creating a dramatic spectacle of cascading water and splashing droplets. Several international experts contributed their insights on-site, further refining the construction and ensuring a breathtaking visual spectacle.
Sustainability
Use of Local Materials: Bluestone was hand-chiseled by artisans from southern China, reducing carbon emissions from long-distance transportation.
Minimizing Material Waste: The stone-cutting process was optimized to reduce excess material loss during transportation and processing.
Efficient Construction: The conical water curtain wall was precisely engineered to ensure continuous water flow, optimizing water usage.
Durability & Resource Utilization: Custom glass and hardware components were designed for longevity, reducing the need for replacements.
Landscape Design - International - Residential
This award celebrates creativity and innovation in the use of practical, aesthetic, horticultural, and environmentally sustainability components, taking into account climate, site and orientation, site drainage and irrigation, human and vehicular access, furnishings and lighting.
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