Babydragon

The "Jinhua Architecture Park" is an important part of the urban redevelopment of the city's new Jinhua district. The park landscape is designed by the artist Ai Weiwei, and its 17 public structures are designed by 17 international architectural teams and artists. Considering the difficulties of controlling the construction over such a long distance, we designed a structure with very few details.

Through its location in the park, the Baby Dragon creates a boundary between an open lawn and a space under future evergreen trees. The three shelters of the pavilion create different conditions of intimacy, control and usage, allowing for different ways of interaction for different visitors, from children, to grown-ups, to the elderly.

The structure is built completely of colored concrete poured on site. Only the floor of the pavilion is partly covered by the same grey brick as used for the paths, which connects it to the materiality and the circulation pattern of the entire park. The massive wall is perforated from both sides so children can climb through from one side to the other. Some of the openings are just large holes, while others are tangentially connected. The openings are the result of a system of eleven different forms which can be added together in an endless pattern. Various combinations of complex openings are possible and the result is a very differentiated three-dimensional structure.

Program:
Pavillon for Children in the Jinhua Architecture Park

Location:
Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China

Design Phase and Construction:
2004 – 2006

Team:
HERLACH HARTMANN FROMMENWILER
with Tom Strub, Nelson Tam, Chris Thür

Dimensions:
30 m × 4.5 m

Material:
Colored Concrete

Client:
Jingdong New District Constructing Headquarters of Jinhua City