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- Architects: GBBN
- Location: Xianning, Hubei, China
- Lead Architects: Jervy Zhu, Jing Luo
- Area: 2000.0 ft2
- Project Year: 2018
- Photographs: Yao Li
- Other Participants: China Institute of Building Standard Design & Research
- Project Manager: Di Ming
- Architecture: Tu Xin, Song Huarong, Lin lin
- Structure: Xing Wanli, Ding Jingzhen
- Mep: Wang Yan,Huang Lingjie, Dong Qiaohui
© Yao Li
Text description provided by the architects. In Wuhan, one of the largest inland cities near China’s eastern coast, a spiritual sanctuary rises near a wetlands preserve. Across Asia, the red-crowned crane has long been associated with longevity, immortality, and spiritual transcendence.
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Floor Plan
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To help China’s Tai Kang Group bring a legend to life, we started with the simple form of a paper origami crane. Delicate creases are articulated in the hand-polished concrete exterior, cast with precision to hold glass panels that will ultimately enclose the space.
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Circulations Diagram
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An opening in the folds gives the small, intimate space an expansive view of surrounding wetlands and a place to watch cranes take flight during funeral ceremonies. A spiral stair in the café leads to a meditation platform beneath a skylight, reinforcing the sense of flight in a tranquil setting.
© Yao Li