If the clue of history left in space is architecture, then music is the aftertaste of time. Germany brought into Qingdao during the concession period not only for Germanic architecture but also for their beloved music and opera and other artistic and cultural activities. The German writer Goethe once praised the experience of architecture: "Architecture is frozen music." To discuss the two, through proportion and structural arrangement, it induces emotional shock of harmony or different intensities, occupying the abstract/figurative ends of art, and are similar in nature.
The rise and fall of writing opera in architecture
Waterfrom Design responsible for this case hopes to use the narrative technique of opera and the specificity of architecture to write the grandeur of the natural features of Qingdao, a port city, and to express the rich marine phase of the base located on the shore in the succession and transformation of space brewing.
Through the staggering advance and retreat surfaces of the vertical walls, the architectural curvature presents a sense of music flow, echoing the sea, whether it is light or calm, back and forth, the high and low strength forms an undulating wave posture.
Whether it's a majestic wave, a calm pool outside the building, or a meandering surface inside, nature or abstract shape ‘water’ construct the dense and wide building volume, just like German composer Wagner used “Texture” to express the opera. The curved surfaces of the building sometimes play in unison, as if the waves are about to roll up to the clouds; or inadvertently look up and see the edge of the façade gently meandering, as if the dawn is approaching on the sea, and the morning star sings only a single chapter.
Unendiche Melodie
The corridor connecting the two areas is the Act Tunes, such as the soft flute tunes that soothe the viewers’ emotions; on the score, the sound of the waves is relegated to the background, continuing the expectation of the ocean with Wagner's Unendiche Melodie, paving the way for the next chapter, and continuing the immersion of the ever-changing nature.
Entering the second field, the sudden enlarged space is like a strong wind on the sea surface, completely different from the mysterious tranquility of the previous bay waves and caves. The space is left blank for self-interpretation, just like the soothing of music after the compaction and calms the ups and downs of emotions. Whether it is admiring nature or hoping to use the current to dilute miscellaneous thoughts, melody and inner feelings can be closely resonated here.
Frozen Waves
There are window paths on both sides of the overlapping vertical façade, and the seats that gradually emerge are like seeing sparks on the shore when sailing. Standing on the coast of the sea is like being at the junction of civilization and barbarism. Through the entanglement, compression, and release of architectural lines, people can experience the unrestrained or tenderness of an opera while walking, and it is like the ever-changing ocean.
Team:
Client: QDMC REAL ESTATE. China Resources Land Limited. Qingdao Xinkaida Construction Group Co., Ltd.
Designer: Waterfrom Design
Copyright: Waterfrom Design Copyright
Photographer: One Thousand Degrees Image
Materials Used:
Hand paint. Quartz stone. Cement stone. Stainless steel. Titanium plate. Walnut veneer. Ultra clear glass
