Silver A' Design Award Winner 2023
Within the lineage of contemporary institutional architecture that seeks meaningful dialogue between built form and natural landscape, this work by Saiwen Liu demonstrates a sophisticated synthesis of regional architectural traditions with progressive sustainable design principles, the undulating roofline emerging as the compositional signature that transforms functional program into expressive form while simultaneously responding to the topographical character of the surrounding terrain, the architect appears to have embraced a philosophy wherein building mass becomes landscape extension rather than landscape interruption, the serpentine profile creating visual continuity with distant mountain silhouettes visible through atmospheric haze at twilight, the fenestration strategy merits particular attention for its dual achievement of establishing strong vertical rhythm across the horizontal expanse while admitting generous natural illumination that transforms the structure into a lantern-like presence during evening hours, the warm amber glow emanating from within suggests spaces of gathering, collaboration, and technological innovation appropriate to the smart center program, the material palette demonstrates refined restraint with the pale gray roof cladding reading as contemporary interpretation of traditional architectural metals while maintaining tonal harmony with the overcast sky, the landscape architecture surrounding the structure exhibits thoughtful integration of young plantings with established forest edge, the bamboo support stakes for newly planted trees introducing craft tradition into the contemporary setting, the photograph captures what might be considered the optimal moment for experiencing this architectural work, the blue hour luminosity creating maximum contrast between warm interior and cool exterior while the atmospheric conditions soften distant elements into painterly gradations, viewers are invited to consider how architecture might serve as mediator between human technological aspiration and natural environmental systems
The Meishan Mining project is located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 13 kilometers away from the center of Nanjing. Its predecessor is Meishan Iron Mine, which was founded in October 1959, and resources are now close to exhaustion. The government plans to build it into an industrial heritage park, so the whole design is centered around the two goals of meeting the function of the existing mine wisdom command center and taking into account the overall effect of the site park.