Situated on the south edge of mainland China, the project faces the vast South China Sea and embraces the most beautiful sunset. The architects captured the most essential elements of nature, i.e. sea, sky, and sunset, and combined them with two powerful artificial elements: triangle and circle. Erecting between the boundless sea and sky, the measurable building volume reveals poetic expressions of time, eternity and sanctity, warmth and romance, grimness and sublimity, and creates a sense of infinity.The simple yet compelling triangle structure pierces the sky with strong spirituality, like an eternal monument between the sea and sky. Sunset lightshines through the central gap of the structure, materializing the perception of time.The rotating device orients towards the position of the setting sun all year round, vividly implying that the moment is eternity. It is in this way the building perfectly fulfills its functions—chapel of a love-themed cultural town used for host weddings, and a popular destination for lovers.
Background
Yazhou Bay is situatedat the south corner of Hainan. Though it's not as famous as Yalong Bay, Sanya Bay orHaitang Bay, it enjoys a profound cultural context. In ancient times,based on theMaritime Silk Road, many Chinese dynasties set counties here, making it a prosperous, livable place with dynamic culturalactivities and convenient transportation.Poly Shallow Sea is a community locatedon the seaside of Yanzhou Bay and surrounded by scenic spots such as Fairyland and South Mountain. Merely 200 meters away from the sea on the south, itenjoys a fantasticseafront position which providesan optimal viewofthe sunset.YazhouCulture, after more than two thousand years of development, iscompiledin the bookYazhou Chronicle, which inheritsthe original TianyaCulture in Hainan. The superior, comfortable natural conditions and romantic sea and sky landscape breed the local custom of worshiping romantic love,and the unconstrained character of Yazhou.
This project is differentiated from other coastal projects in Sanya City, by drawing onYazhou'sfolk customs and characteristics tocreate a localcultural brand—"Legendary Yazhou, Romantic Paradise".
Yazhou Bay enjoys beautiful landscape of shallow sea, mirror-like sky and romantic sunset. The design teamadopted architectural approaches to express and strengthen its natural advantages, and to make the marvelous sunset view an iconic symbol of Yazhou Bay.The design combines local cultural elements and excellent natural landscape resources, and integrates romantic weddings and love into the venue. The spacesare connected by themes like"first sight", "love" and "oath", to create a series of touching scenes including"DysisChapel", "Love in the South", "Childhood Sweetheart Station", and "The Poems with Flowers".The DysisChapel is undoubtedlythe core, spiritual space that dominates all spaces.
DysisChapel
Circular form is frequently seen in ancient ritual places, such as the Stonehenge. The soft circular shape of DysisChapel reconciles the complicated relationship within the master plan. With a complete and perfect geometric shape, the circular volume offers people an open view to the vast sea as they stand on the second floor, and helps form a clear spatial relationship.The sharp form of the triangle structure breaks the completeness and softness of the circle. It is like the spire of an ancient oriental tower or a gothic church, indicating people's yearning for establishing a relationship with God (sky) and thus building a connection with everything in the world.A straight line that deviates from the centersplits the circle into two pools of varying heights, with a "water curtain" in between.Two walking paths are formed by the two high walls and ramps in the courtyard. The lofty walls cast a large area of shadows on both paths.The calming, mysterious interplay of light and shadows adds a solemn monument-likeatmosphere to the space.
Walking upward along the curved ramps on both sides, people can have a glimpse of the sky and sea through the gaps of the water courtyard walls. The scene of a water courtyard filled with light and shadows unfolds slowly on both sides, and the water curtain represents the boundary between the secular and the spiritual, light and darkness, and the known and the unknown. The gurgle of water symbolizes the dialogue among time, space, and people.The chapeladopted a classic symmetric layout to emphasize the sense of ritual. On the axis of entering the chapel, a bell tower is added as a ceremonial node of the space.The vaulted bell tower and the mysterious triangular chapel form a playful space similar to that in Monument Valley, carrying memories of the bygone times as well as a futuristic vibe.
The architects utilized shadows to endow the building with a distinct form, and emphasized the interdependence of light and shadows. The corridor space concealed in shadows and the symmetrical layout imbue the building with a sense of monumentality unique to classical architecture.Shadow becomes a vital element to interpretlight and sacredness. Through the narrow gaps, a vast yet mysterious world of tides, sea breezes,sun,moon and starsis revealed.The window frame of the chapel is designedbased on a T-shaped structure, while the curved wall and the protruding second floor slab also form an abstract "T" shape. Meanwhile, the imagery of cross is intentionally avoided, in ordernot to evoke association with Christianity. Instead, the architects integrated the references to sacredness from various cultures into the design,expectingpeople to resonate withthe venue subconsciously.
Chasing rays of the setting sun
In the initial design stage, the chapel was planned to face the direction of the sunset on Valentine's Day, on the basis of calculation. In other word, February 14thwould be the only day of the year that the view of the setting sundirectly fall into the opening of the chapel, to signify uniqueness.However, each moment is different from the others, each moment is precious and each day is special to each person.The architects thought that since it is possible toconnect the chapel with the sunset on a certain day, why not make this happen every day?To that end, a rotating stagewas added to the final design scheme, to enable the chapel to rotate in accordance with the direction of the sun. Based on the spatial design, the rotating device isattached to the base of the chapel.The bridge from the platform to the chapelis designed to be telescopic and movable. During a wedding ceremony, the bridge slowly extends, graduallylaying the road of happinessfrom the sacred chapel.
Epilogue
With abstract, pure, mysterious and romantic geometric spatial structures, the project provides a venue that responds to people's spiritual pursuit for happiness and brings them pleasure, joy, sensitivity and inspiration.The carefully arranged classical symmetrical layout, the narrow passage leading up the steps, the gurgling water curtain, the tranquil pools, the lofty bell tower, the mysterious ambience, the dazzling light, together with the vast sea, the humid sea breeze, the splendid sunset, and the limitless sunset express the architects' most sincere wishes to people.
