WHAT
Minjiang Floating System
WHERE
Jincheng Lake, Chengdu, China
WHO
NLE, with Fanmate and KRJS
HOW
With bamboo, plus flotation pods, timber, and chutzpah... This is the third
iteration of an experimental building proposition that first appeared in
Lagos as a floating school. This time, the objective is to teach about water
management in the age of climate crisis. The prefabricated pavilions cluster
dockside to invite the public to occupy them, read, listen and think. Also
to be inspired by exceedingly pleasant small structures that have been
realised with economy and imagination. The peak-roofed pavilions are as
light as lace, and seem to embody optimism through aesthetics – which
may or may not be appropriate, given the problems they address.WHY
Because to be uplifted by a place dedicated
to addressing a problem is its own approach
to a solution. Because the three sizes of
pavilions here hold information, but also
concerts and exhibitions. Because this
nuclear family of steep-pitch shelters feels
timeless, ancient and pure.<GPMJP>