Immortal Forest - Skyscraper Design
Instructor: Lei Chen
Site: Beijing CN
Year: 2017 Winter
Team Work with: Yahui Hu, Wei He, Yuyang Shi
Instructor: Lei Chen
Site: Beijing CN
Year: 2017 Winter
Team Work with: Yahui Hu, Wei He, Yuyang Shi
This design was inspired by the replacement rule of Chinese traditional wooden buildings as well as the concerns of billion tons of construction waste, which cannot be degraded. With the passage of time, the building itself will be aging. But in Chinese traditional wooden buildings, those new members will replace the old members; at the same time, the old members will be degraded naturally. We want this cycle mechanism could be continued.
Beijing is among the cities with the world's highest population densities. However, it's per capita green area is less than 1/5 of that of Washington. Our building will provide a natural environment for people to escape from their busy city life and let more people enjoy the natural landscape. The new "building" locates here is not only to honor the ancient craftsmen but also to challenge the dogmatism of Chinese traditional architectural design.
In ancient China, in order to create a sense of awe through architecture, to highlight the majesty of the royal and the supremacy of the imperial power, it was forbidden by emperors to plant trees along the central axis of the Forbidden City). People organize and take an artificial intervention to trees so that the appropriate trees can grow along the redetermined trajectory to withstand weight, and improve the urban landscape by transplanting redundant trees.
As to the support of trees, the building becomes an organic life system. Those three floors provide space for roots' growth while controlling crowns' growth. Crowns and roots connect through slabs. Human has a variety of activities in areas where tress support floors, such as works, lives and entertainments, and at the same time, plants and animals living in harmony. People come from nature, dwelling in nature, and also belong to nature.