Image Credit : CAAI, Yu Bo
Project Overview
Y TIME locates in the northern zone of Suzhou. Placed in a favorable natural environment with convenient traffic, the center aims to distinguish itself as a community landmark, a display center and an outstanding modern architecture.
The architectural appearance consists of two irregular volumes that revolve, overlap and interact with one another. Some elements are presented repeatedly either in a similar or totally different manner. Time seems to stand still as visitors lose themselves in this ingeniously designed space. The revolving and overlapping building blocks make the architecture look multi-dimensional and stunning, as if a huge art museum was standing on the ground. Architects hope the building is just as impressive as an artistic sculpture that can be inscribed in everyone’s heart for long.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Cen Ling(lead architect), Huang Xiaojuan, Ruan Fuwei, Chu Wei, Yao Kaili
Project Brief
Two building volumes are connected by a glass main entrance in the middle. Sunlight filters through the top of the transparent glass, bringing outdoor elements into the interior space and blurring the boundaries between them. “Sunshine” and “open space” have become integral parts of the urban public space, as well as the symbols of a certain spiritual pursuit and metaphor. Sunlight reaches inside through the clerestories, which creates a spatial relationship with visual connection between the interior space and natural daylight. By breaking the boundaries of the indoor and outdoor spaces, the sunlight gets people closer to the nature and conveys a harmonious atmosphere.
The color of white dominates the whole building. It is pure enough to reinforce the perception of other colors in nature, and to a certain extent, it emphasizes the “emptiness” of the living art center.
Project Innovation/Need
The exterior of the building is dominated by simple and pure white elements revolving, overlapping and interacting with each other. The emotional experience hidden behind the visually plain and unadorned design is enhanced and broadened to create more possibilities. The art center is more than just a simply-designed building as a remarkable sculpture. It is an open community space with no boundaries, and it offers every user the chance to interact with each other through various leisure activities.
As sports and fitness emerge as a lifestyle welcomed by people worldwide, the living art center wishes that sports in modern time can become a way of life and people can participate in different sport activities in one place, whether you want to play badminton, go swimming or work out in the fitness center. Our aesthetic pursuit of life and health is changing, partly because a better sporting venue is accessible to all. Here in the Y Time, you can explore the unique artistic beauty of the architecture while enjoying all the convenience it brings to you. It is an international sporting venue that meets all the needs of high-class exercises as expected. Everyone can be part of the sports trend and every moment is a cherished memory here.
Design Challenge
In a flashy and seemingly genuine society, simple design presents the essence of wisdom. Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, a pioneer of minimalist style in the history of architecture, is famous for his “less-is-more” design approach. In his opinion, “less” stands for simplicity rather than white space, and the “more” philosophy promotes the pursuit of perfection. It is never easy for architects to try to remove undesirable design elements. Instead, more wisdom and efforts are needed to convey the power and beauty of the design works.
The architectural design of the Y Time is themed around three key words- simplicity, sharing and vitality. Simplicity refers to the aesthetic pursuit of a pure artistic effect with no unnecessary elements. Sharing means that all facilities in the center are designed to meet the user’s demands, including the badminton court, heated swimming pool, gym, book shop, tea house and the water bar. And vitality is what you can experience at the entrance with sunlight and in the underground space.
Sustainability
Materials, as the main component of the spatial characteristics, call for sharp sensitivity, rational reflection and practices. Before deciding which material to use, we rely on digital modelling and a 1:1 life-sized replica to choose the color, size and texture of the material. The main materials used for the walls also need to be confirmed by painting on site. The simpler the white wall looks, the more efforts are required in design.
Seen from a distance, the entire building is white, but if you get closer, you can notice stones of various sizes (400*1200, 800*1200 and 1000*1200) are connected by staggered joints. The building facade is built with open-end stone curtain wall, which is a new and advanced design concept and structure. This material can be adjusted in three directions, convenient to dismantle and install and easy to maintain. Besides, it is energy - conserving and safe to use while having a nice appearance. Meanwhile, fluocarbon coating spraying process is applied to the aluminum alloy material for the sake of long-lasting corrosion prevention and waterproof performance.
Architecture - Commercial - International
This award celebrates the design process and product of planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, and aesthetic considerations in commercial projects. Consideration given for material selection, technology, light and shadow.
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