The architecture studio of Kengo Kuma have revealed their design plans for a textured tourist centre on the banks of Yangcheng Lake in Suzhou, China.
The Yangcheng Lake Travel Distribution Center, which will double as a depot for the lake’s fleet of boats, is currently under construction and will be completed by the end of 2017.
The 7,760sq m (83,500sq ft) structure will include two overlapping wing-like triangular roofs formed of modern materials intended to evoke the thatched surfaces used in traditional Chinese architecture.
Formed of angled aluminium panels, these will face out to the water, and are shaped to resemble the Chinese character for the number eight, which is thought to be lucky in China.
The centre is designed “to transmit the charm of Suzhou” and will have a bright interior space and an external terrace for visitors to relax, socialise and look out towards the landscape.
Yangcheng Lake is famous in China for its Shanghai crab population, and tourists flock to the area during crabbing season.
Kuma is working on several leisure projects, both large and small, ranging from
a Wanda hotel tower in Sydney to
a branch of the Victoria and Albert design museum in Dundee, Scotland;
a Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense, Denmark; and
the National Stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
