Skip to main content

Research : The Xinxiang Cultural Tourism Center

The Xinxiang Cultural Tourism Center has been designed by Mathieu Forest Architecte and Zone Of Utopia. It is a unique architectural building focusing on winter sports and featuring an indoor ski slope (Astbury, 2022).


Xinxiang Cultural Tourism Center

The centre has a rather distinctive Sculpture because instead of a traditional building, it takes the form of a large sculpture resembling nine stacked and offset ice cubes. Its simple appearance has hidden details which can been seen upon closer examination.


The glass facades are textured with translucent ice crystals which filters light and views from inside. This give the building a charming effect which attracts visitors to explore further.

The building combines fragility and strength. Despite its imposing look, it is made entirely of printed glass and steel. The glass panels are suspended by stainless steel cables with minimal connections, balancing fragility and strength (Astbury, 2022).



The building's appearance changes depending on how it's viewed, with each angle offering a different perspective. The upper cube juts out from the commercial street, creating a cantilevered effect, while from the north, it forms a vertical gap that invites visitors inside (ArchDaily, 2021). PROL uses light and shadow in a way to consider how different lights can be arranged and combined. This allows the designer to transform the appearance of the ice box during the day and create a magical, fairy-tale atmosphere at night. The lighting design is based on the building's intuitive characteristics and its relationship with light, aiming to highlight the shape of large ice cubes (Ibrahim, 2022) .


Xinxiang Cultural Tourism Center

This research has given me insights that have got me thinking more deeply about how I can approach the design of my own project. I should pay closer attention to the texture, appearance, and overall appeal of the facade of my design. 

Reference

ArchDaily (2021). Ice Cubes Cultural Tourist Center / Zone of Utopia + Mathieu Forest Architecte. [online] ArchDaily. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/972937/ice-cubes-cultural-tourist-center-zone-of-utopia-plus-mathieu-forest-architecte?ad_medium=gallery [Accessed 11 May 2024].

Astbury, J. (2022). Xinxiang Cultural Tourism Centre in China resembles a stack of ice cubes. [online] Dezeen. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2022/03/10/xinxiang-cultural-tourism-centre-mathieu-forest-architecte-glass-cubes-china/ [Accessed 11 May 2024].

Ibrahim, N.N. (2022). Xinxiang Cultural Tourism Center, lighting by PROL. [online] AmazingArchitecture. Available at: https://amazingarchitecture.com/cultural-center/xinxiang-cultural-tourism-center-lighting-by-prol [Accessed 11 May 2024].

Comments

  1. Sam Dargan14 May 2024 at 04:39

    It would be nice to see you relate your research to your project idea in some way throughout the post instead of a just a brief line at the end of the post.

    You are using Quillbot again by the looks of it and after what happened at the end of last term! You don't need to do this, you are more than capable of writing in your own words. Please re-write.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eunine Fay Jones - Research

E. Fay Jones was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, USA on January 31, 1921. He spent his childhood in the rural Ozark Mountains, where he gained love for nature and the environment, which had an impact on his architectural designs later in life. After completing his studies at Rice University, he joined Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural practice, Taliesin Associated Architects, as an apprentice. He worked closely with Wright on several projects, including the renowned Taliesin West in Arizona (Compton, 2023). Fay Jones E. Fay Jones is famous for his natural architectural style, which includes integrating buildings with the environment, using materials like stone and wood, and incorporating geometric shapes inspired by nature. "Jones ignored architectural trends and instead focused on his own organic aesthetic with materials found in The Ozarks and familiar traditional forms from his home region"(mariathuroczy, 2013) .  One of his design that has inspired me for this project...
2 comments
Read more

Initial ideas

After looking at the project brief and the theme, we generated some visual ideas for our respective projects in order to develop them later. The exercise consisted of folding a sheet of A3 paper and folding it into eight sections. After doing that, we spent two minutes making quick sketches for each section. After sketching these, we discussed with our partners to find out which of our sketches were better and chose ideas to develop further. This time, we used a sheet of A2 paper that we folded into eight sections as well, and we developed our chosen ideas. For my first idea to develop, I chose this sketch because of the feedback I got from my classmates and tutor, and I also thought it had some potential to be developed into something better.
1 comment
Read more

Final major project: Form and function

       The primary function of my project is to allow children to have a good time outside in a safe and sustainable place. Creating spaces that are in harmony with the environment, using eco-friendly materials, and promoting practices that help preserve our natural resources  Sustainable Playground I am creating this playground because in my city (Kitwe, Zambia) we have plenty of parks but people do not use them as they are not user-friendly and as a result they are not safe or maintained. The playground is located near city centre, where the vegetation is dense and will allow the users to have fresh air. Having a sustainable playground in Kitwe will allow the children of the community to engage together in a safe environment.          Reference         s.c, C.I.-S. (no date) Inter-Play Playground equipment, inter-play.eu. Available at: https://www.inter-play.eu/blog/eco-friendly-playgrounds:-a-rising-trend-in-t...
2 comments
Read more