Heavenly Water Service Center of International Horticultural Exposition 2014 Qingdao, Shandong, by HHD_FUN, in Qingdao, Shandong, China. A Relationship Between Terrain and Design Terrain — as one of the most important factors — is normally taken into account in both architecture and landscape architectural design. A good design is always based on the original terrain and emphasizes the unique features of that terrain as well. In other words, a good design fits the existing ground naturally, as it grows naturally out of the terrain. Contour lines are the key to helping a designer understand the original terrain. By using contour lines, we can easily understand a trend of terrain and define a plan, which takes advantage of the terrain for drainage and creates harmony between architect and land.
Heavenly Water Service Center
Qingdao, a quickly developing city with a population of 9 million, is located in the biggest peninsula, Shandong Peninsula in China. Qingdao has the seventh biggest harbor in the world. The International Horticultural Exposition 2014 was held in the northeast section of Qingdao. The Exposition was planned leaning to the southern side of Mount Lao and toward the sea in the south. It is thought that the location has a perfect landscape view and a good microclimate for growing plants. The Heavenly Water Service Center sits in the central part of the international Horticultural Exposition, offering a venue for gathering and dispersing tourists. The design was based on a piece of land that extends into an extant reservoir. Before the project, the land was covered by vegetation and several buildings.
How the Building Design Bending to the Natural Lines In the project, the building was defined by following the contour lines. The building includes two floors, following a natural gradient of the original ground. The top of the ground floor has the same level as the path from both the east and north sides of the reservoir. Part of the roof is built as two huge front terraces for the second floor, the shape of which coincides with the tendency of the contour line. The top of the building looks like the peak of the original ground. Rooftop as a Viewpoint The rooftop, following the trend of contour lines, is divided into four similar units, which are covered by the lawn in the center and stairs with a gentle gradient surrounding. The edges of the rooftop are marked by glass guardrails to prevent visitors from falling. The rooftop offers tourists an extensive view of the whole Expo area and nice landscape toward the sea. The interesting thing is that in those units, the step edges also follow the trend of natural gradient, but the height from the edges of the rooftop to the lawn goes gradually down. Related Articles:- Is China Transforming its Relationship with Water? A Look at the Aiyi River Landscape Park
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Recommended Reading:
- Landscape Architecture: An Introduction by Robert Holden
- Landscape Architecture, Fifth Edition: A Manual of Environmental Planning and Design by Barry Starke
Article by Jun Yang
Published in Blog