Guangzhou temple right Vanke Center art waterscape

The Siyou Vanke Centre in Guangzhou sits at the intersection of Guangzhou Avenue and the Pearl River's front channel, ringed by landmarks including the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPPCC, the Guangzhou International Finance Center, the Guangzhou Opera House, the Guangzhou Library and the Guangdong Museum, with the Canton Tower visible across the river. The landscape master plan, including the water-feature sculpture concept, was designed by SWA; Su Shui Design led the detailed design and delivery of the sculptural water feature in collaboration with UAP, which fabricated and installed it. The sculpture is conceived as a sail, or as a sheet of paper lifted at one corner by the wind, floating at the edge of a still reflecting pool, with water running evenly over its upper surface. Working from SWA's concept, Su Shui took responsibility for scale, site placement, day and night effects, control of the sculptural surface required to achieve the water film, water-system and plant-room design, and coordination with civil works, while UAP handled structural support, surface jointing and fabrication. The project was effectively a retrofit of an existing plaza above a basement roof, so every routing decision had to preserve existing structure and ceiling finishes. Site analysis revealed that the sculpture's mirror pool lay immediately beside a fire lane, and that the overflow channel of the circulation system ran beneath the fire lane, forcing a slight reduction in sculpture size and a change in edge stone to meet load requirements. A 1.33 percent drainage slope across the front court threatened the perfect water film, so the team remodelled the high point against human scale, carefully testing the stepped cascade and safe touch zones at multiple heights. Computational fluid dynamics was used to predict dry zones at the lifted sail corner; adjusting the step forms and side weirs, then re-simulating, produced full coverage without splashing. Multiple, dispersed water supply points were introduced rather than a single top outlet, both to meet flow targets and to remain feasible within the slender volume. At night, a "reflecting starry sky" lighting strategy uses small, custom star lights mounted on both sculpture and pool floor, grouped and programmed to support different day and evening moods; the dark, raised pool bottom intensifies the mirror reflection. Waterproofing was the central technical risk: 100 light points meant 100 potential leak holes, so Su Shui customised miniature star lights, developed silicone gaskets through repeated mould testing, and worked with UAP on joint detailing that avoided full welding (which would have distorted the stainless steel). High-precision 3D layering and stainless-steel samples were reviewed remotely during the pandemic. On site, Su Shui and UAP coordinated with the client and landscape contractor over nearly three months, routing pipes around an irregular basement roof and welding custom support brackets at every height change. The result is a mirror-polished stainless sail that, by day, carries an even sheet of water, and by night, glows like a field of stars in the Guangzhou skyline.