Melbourne-based architecture firm studio505 has designed and completed the Lotus Building and People's Park that's located in Wujin, China. Its impressive physical form resembles the flower for which the building is named, and its petals dramatically rise out of an artificial lake. Accompanied by an eight acre park, it's used as a civic building and a landmark whose distinctive presence ties the community together.
The Lotus Building houses part of the city's planning bureau, as well as exhibition halls and meeting rooms. Although it serves a practical purpose, the structure was conceived as an inhabited sculptural form. It's wrapped in a display of metal-ribbed petals and both the interior and exterior are covered in hand-laid mosaic tiles. They form a smooth gradient of color that ranges from white and beige to pink. In addition, a stunning 23-foot-long suspended chandelier hangs in the center of the building and resembles the stamen of a flower.
The project is designed for energy efficiency; it's cooled using 2500 geothermal piles installed through the base of the lake, and the center uses evaporative cooling from it to operate a thermal chimney within the main flower pod.
At night, a light show features a series of changing natural color combinations and transforms the Lotus Building into a spectacular art attraction.
studio505 website
via [ArchDaily and Inhabitat]
