Fuyang, Yangbei Lake Wetland Park North Reception Center

▲ Bird-Eye view of the site The project is located at Yangbei lake wetland park in Fuyang District, Hangzhou. Before a wetland park, Yangbei lake used to be a natural lake, empoldered into an experimental paddy field for rice cultivation research in the 80s. The environmental impact of this administrative decision was revised after drastic changes in recent urban-development philosophies, which involve the re-naturalization of previously cultivated lands, providing urban areas with breathable intervals, and suburb-living households with accessible nature-themed public spaces. Various rare birds can be easily spotted within the park’s perimeter during the project’s construction. The sight is even more prominent now, with egret seen throughout the islands in the park. When the government assigned the project, the construction of the general park area had already started, resulting in an extremely tight time frame of three months. This inadequate time budget imposed a severe challenge for us. Luckily, we successfully solved the hurdle with our construction partner’s effective building planning and project timing. The reception center is located near the south parking lot of the wetland park, at the side close to the downtown area of Fuyang District. With its close proximity to the city’s center of human and potentially tourist traffic, the reception center is expected to fulfill the demanding role of visitor accommodation. The relatively compact building needs to provide a variety of functions, including visitor reception, information booth, ticketing, management, office space, and medical services. Visitor amenities like restrooms, nursing rooms, vending facilities, and resting areas are also expected to be incorporated by the design. Once constructed, together with the nearby sight-seen train station and pedal boat dock, the building will serve as a vital tourist traffic node for Yangbei lake wetland park, facilitating visitors’ needs. ” “How to complete the construction in such a narrow time budget” is the first problem that came to my mind. The solution that came right after is to utilize modularized construction. Our design firm has been devoted to the research of modularized construction for compact structures; this project provided a perfect test ground for applying this novel building method. It took more than one firm’s effort to realize this vision: our construction partner and material supplier worked with us closely to ensure the structure’s integrity and stop technical hurdles like stress model computation, segment connection, and construction procedure design from affecting the project’s progress. Speed was not the only advantage of this construction method, as it also reduces environmental impact, keeping the damage to the land during the construction at minimal. ▲ Bird-Eye view in dawn ” “What characteristics should a construct near a wetland has” is the second problem needed to be solved. A significant egret presence on the green island of the lake profoundly impacted me during our very first visit to the site. The scene, therefore, solved the second problem — we decided to construct the house that matches the silhouette of a bird habiting on the island. Two sizable roofs with asymmetrical hights and overhanging eaves resemble the wings of a bird. The house has a low and horizontally-extending contour resting on the green field, just like a bird settling down in its nest. ” “How to incorporate so many features into one compact building” is the third problem that the design has to answer. To solve it, we have to divide the building into three segments based on their functions. The first segment consolidates the female restroom, hot water outlet, and vending facilities; the male restroom, unisex and accessible restroom, and the nursing room form the second segment; the third segment includes the ticket vendor, office spaces, and medical room. Toilets utilize solid spacings and are made accessible by locating them near the parking lot. The reception block employs vague and suggestive boundaries and directly leads to the lake area and the park transit hub. Three segments complement each other with their distinctive feature sets. They also granted a gray area under the roof, forming entrances from multiple directions, a resting space, and a patio. The result is a building that can be easily accessed from all sides and can provide shelter under its spacious roof. We finished the construction of the project from scratch within two months. This incredible efficiency results from valuable experiences, attention to detail, and, most importantly, teamwork, which allows a well-planned building procedure and synchronizes the design process with on-site construction. 2020. 8. Aug. 7th, 2020: First site visit since the start of the construction. Heavy-duty cranes are installing structural beams. Building’s basic structure is half-finished, with more screw piles need to be installed. Construction workers are fitting pre-fabricated structural beams on the site. 2020. 8. Aug. 13th, 2020: One week since the first visit. Lightweight steel-framed walls are lying on the site and ready to be installed. Laminated wooden beams have also arrived at the site with adequate protection. They will be installed on the roof keel once it completes. Concrete placement of interior floors is finished with leveling. 2020. 8. Aug. 18th, 2020: The house’s silhouette looks distinguished from a distance. With all laminated wooden beams in place, the roofline also starts to take shape. The primary supporting structure is mostly finished. Construction workers are preparing to install roof plates. Waterproofing is essential for the next step. Once the roof plate is in place, the interior construction will start without any concerns about the weather. 2020. 8. Aug. 22nd, 2020: Workers proceed with the installation of external lightweight steel-framed walls. Roof panels are in place, with wiring spaces for roof lightings reserved. 2020. 9. Sept. 1st, 2020: Workers start to install interior air-conditioning devices. All walls have water pipes and electrical wires embedded, and their exterior base sealing and waterproofing are also completed. The basal keel is fastened in position. The next step will be installing external wooden decor plates. Roof steel beams are coated with chipboards, they will be attached with Douglas fir plates later. 2020. 9. Sept. 8th, 2020: The external wooden decor plate has been installed. The roof’s temperature insulation and waterproof layer are also in place. Wooden door and window frames made by Douglas fir are undergoing installation with their material matched with roof plates. Among the three segments of the structure, the reception bloc features a welcoming wooden exterior, while the restroom section employs dark carbonized decor plating. Such a contrast in exterior material not only displays functionality differences between segments, but also prevents monotonous visual experiences from complimenting wooden colors with a black accent color. Interior equipment and decors, including wall and floor finishes, sanitary wares, lightings, and air conditioners, are also installed. 2020. 9. Sept. 13th, 2020: Excavators are consolidating surrounding land areas when we arrive at the site. Al-Mg-Mn alloy roof tiles have been moved to the rooftop and are ready for installation; meanwhile, doors and windows are being fitted to their frames. Exterior finishes are almost completed, except the outdoor floor area is still undergoing laminated bamboo floor fitting. The general visual presence of the building has become increasingly distinguishable. 2020. 9. Sept. 21st, 2020: Workers have finished the glass fitting; they are now meticulously adjusting the building’s details, fixing minute problems that went unnoticed during previous construction. We also see progress in surrounding environments adjustment with parkways hardened, and landscapes leveled. 2020. 9. Sept. 27th, 2020: Before completion, we conducted our final refinement. We tuned the intensity as well as the direction of interior lighting on site. External light strips also received close inspections to prevent uneven installation. We also added a rain chain to the roof. The final step is to conduct Interior caulking and equipment testing. We finally finished the project within two months’ time. It is worth noticing that not a single brick was used during the whole construction — everything was done through modularized lightweight parts pre-fabricated in factories. Via the nature of the modularized construction method incorporating light/heavy steel parts and laminated wooden panels, besides the concrete base and the terrazzo tile application, the rest of the construction process did not require any water-activated adhesive. We tested the modularized construction process in the Yangbei lake wetland reception center project based on three reasons. The first reason is the need to shorten the construction period. The conventional structural frame construction method is time-consuming and complicated, which makes the project schedule hard to manage. Modularized buildings, on the contrary, are lightweight buildings designed with their mobility in consideration. They utilized pre-fabricated parts to achieve a highly versatile usage with minimal environmental constraints. Their modularized feature also allows straightforward construction procedures, easily controllable fabrication processes, which all contribute to an easily manageable and highly sufficient project. ▲ Facade of the building from the west side The second reason is modular construction’s minimal environmental impact. Conventional construction methods inevitably involve tremendous destructions of the land area within projects’ close proximity; structures built with such method also require significant labor and capital to demolish. With modularized structure comes with none of those issues: being built on stilts, modularized buildings would not impose permanent land damage. After the removal of a modular structure, the land it used to sit on can be reseeded instantaneously, while the parts collected from the disassembling can be recycled or reconstructed as is. The last reason of the three is the treasuring of classic architectural wisdom. Modular construction resembles the construction of traditional Chinese wooden constructs not only in its procedure but also in its core philosophy. Modularity and cement-free construction are the essences of Traditional Chinese wooden structures; all individual components are interlinked with tenon joints, allowing them to be disassembled and reassembled. Structural parts can be replaced, renewed, or removed — the Chinese wooden constructs are some of the earliest iterations of versatile modular buildings. The versatility does not end at the structural parts, as exterior components such as roof tiles and bricks are also highly maneuverable and easy to transport building units that can be easily regrouped and utilized elsewhere. The way traditional wooden structures connect with the ground is also non-intrusive and non-destructive, as the houses are placed on the surface. After the house has been removed, the basis of the construct can easily be transformed back to its natural state or be converted into a farm field. The modularity in building construction represents the ancient wisdom passed on through generations from China’s glorious history. ▲ Details of the tree passing through the roof