Yangzhou Sanwan Park International Architecture Design Competition

In June 2023, the results of the「RENASCENCE｜CANAL SPIRIT」Yangzhou Sanwan Park International Architecture Design Competition were announced in Yangzhou. The consortium composed of PILLS and NODE won the Second Prize in the Competition. The concept is inspired by the “Record of Yangzhou's Painted Boats.” In ancient times, tourists went boating on the lake to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the river and appreciate Yangzhou's garden attractions, local customs, and traditions while on the move. As written in the “Record of Yangzhou's Painted Boats,” traveling along the ancient canal “with the land as the longitude, with the characters and events as the latitude” reveals Yangzhou's historical, cultural, and poetic rhythms. With the moving floating device “Floating Lantern Pavilion” as the core and the medium for triggering the vitality of the Sanwan, the floating boat lamp is combined with different buildings on the water bank. It will interpret different functions and scenes, trigger more diverse activities, and jointly light up the spiritual memory of the canal. Forming a diverse and vibrant new bay along the river, it will also become a new scroll in the memory of the Sanwan Canal, a cultural landscape that connects the past and the future, and a guide to canal tourism that continues history and urban memory. In this competition, PILLS was responsible for designing the movable landmarks “Floating Lantern Pavilion” and “The Forest Library” in Yangzhou Sanwan Park. The designs aim to translate the traditional architectural language and the essence of the East into a contemporary context. By employing traditional forms and nature-inspired materials, the designs seek to establish and echo a harmonious relationship between the architecture and the natural surroundings of Sanwan Park. “The Forest Library” design attempts to create a sense of place where people can read together under the trees. The building is an abstraction of a natural sloping roof, based on the shelter of a traditional Yangzhou residence, a sloping surface surrounded by trees and articulated with the earth. Yangzhou residents and visitors can gather on the roof, where people can feel the atmosphere of nature and read about the trees and the landscape. When the “Floating Lantern Pavilion” drifts here, the roof becomes a grandstand, providing a new cultural venue and opportunity for the city. The inner atrium of the library creates a spiritual space through the height. Entering the library from the entrance, one is guided to the center of the atrium, where one feels the tranquil spiritual world of sunlight pouring down from above. The design respects the parkland loop of the site to create a sunken circulation space, and the sunken outdoor space adds to the relaxing reading experience of the “Library.” “The Leaf House” is built with a “boat” roof to highlight the iconic image of the water sports center, and it can also be used as a beacon lighthouse at night. Combined with the viewing competition's needs, the large steps' design integrates the architectural landscape to build a canal theater space for seeing and being seen. Linking the three-dimensional paths up and down the ground forms a variety of walking experiences, creating a relaxed and interesting indoor and outdoor spatial atmosphere. “Dancing Symphony” is a new bifurcated bridge, erected horizontally on the original bridge path to form two parallel and converging experience paths, similar to the interaction between pas de deux. At the same time, two new space nodes are placed. The research pavilion is made of bamboo and ecological steel materials. The main viewing gallery looks at the Universiade Tower and the Canal Museum. The observation tower forms a vertical dual path with stairs and ramps, overlooking the canal landscape when it meets at the top. “Floating Lantern Pavilion” is a movable landmark and cultural symbol that floats on the water. It is the image of a traditional Kongming lantern floating softly and poetically on the ancient canal of Sanwan. The floating installation can be combined with different buildings on the shore to create different uses and scenes. Combined with the grandstand on the shore, the bottom of the boat can be fully expanded to become open stages on four sides; the installation can also be partially opened to become a moving gallery. If the bottom is completely closed, the installation's interior can become a closed functional space. The installation will turn into a unique part of the vast Yangzhou cultural landscape, adding a unique artistic atmosphere to the city.

Project Information Project Location: Sanwan Park, Guangling District, Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province Organizer: Shugang-Shouxihu Scenic Area Management Committee of Yangzhou City Host Organization: Yangzhou Sanwan Investment Development Co. Ltd. Co-organizer: Shanghai One-tenth Art Company Design Institutes: PILLS Chief Architect: Zigeng Wang Design Team: Hongyi Du, Manying Wang, Yuzhu Cai, Yuezhu Deng, Canqi Mu, Yuxin Tian, Yingxiao Chen NODE Architecture & Urbanism Chief Architect: Heng Liu Design Team: Zanning Huang, Jiebin Huang, Xinghan Gong, Huidong Zhang, Zijian Huang, Huixin Dong