Corner Pavilion is located on a pedestrian street by the West Lake in Hangzhou. It is a small building designed by Dazhou And Associates commissioned by the coffee brand M Stand. The street is crowded with people, and the site which is less than 100 meters from the West Lake, is defined out by three ginkgo trees.
Sculpture and Support
With three simple geometries supporting the heavy metal roof volume, the building stands like a sculpture on a busy street. It opens up in all directions, so that there is no obstruction at eye level except for the necessary structure, and you can look at it and then through it.
Shelter and Platform
We want it to be a space to enter and to stay. During the design process, we compressed the bar space as much as possible and left spaces for semi-outdoor platform. Moreover, the large shelter could attract people come to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee.
Reach out to West Lake
The metal texture makes the Corner Pavilion look heavy and calm, while the delicate structure allows it to float lightly. We intentionally cancelled a column on the West Lake side, and the large roof is completed with more than 4m cantilever, allowing broader views and spaces towards the West Lake. The Corner Pavilion is neither close nor far from the lake, and it is quietly conversing with the West Lake in its own way.
The answer is seven nights
How many days does it take to transport 10 tons of steel from Shanghai to Hangzhou? After the design was completed, at the request of the scenic spot and the shopping mall, we could get only seven nights to build it. Due to a precise design development of the steel structure, we disassembled the main structure into several truss parts and performed a trial assembly in a factory at Shanghai, then disassembled and delivered the parts to Hangzhou for a on site assembly. Precise detail design and construction control kept the error to millimeter level, allowing for the most complete presentation of the design.
The Corner Pavilion is quiet, neither showing off nor yelling, and it has been there for a long time since the first moment it was there. When autumn comes, the ginkgo leaves fall on the roof, people take a rest here in the descending twilight, looking west and find, it is the sunset of West Lake.
