Learning

Erhai Lake Ecological Corridor in Dali aims to establish a healthy water-land buffer zone and ecological barrier, expanding the lake’s interactive interface for the residents and tourists.

Client brief called for the design of a new Science Centre for Nelson Mandela University and accommodating a new 150-seater digital planetarium installation. At the onset – the decision was taken to set the building back from the main arterial movement route on the eastern edge, thereby creating a public plaza and gathering space. The building’s eastern edge along this plaza is then further extended as a landscape onto the public realm, thus creating a ‘living edge,’ allowing visitors to circulate both vertically and horizontally within a multi-leveled terrace.

The Desert X AlUla 2024 Visitor Centre is located at the end of a narrow canyon, a cul-de-sac that implied the position of the building as well as its spatial organisation. Nested between rock formations, the structure offers a singular uninterrupted view towards the West, starkly contrasting with the adjacent canyon walls to the North, East, and South. These immediate views of the stratified cliffs become essential to the experience.

Fortress ruins on the Åland Islands that were constructed as the most western stronghold of the Russian Empire in the first half of the 19th century led by Nicholas I of Russia, when Finland was a part of Russia. The fortress was a major endeavor and was built to defend the Gulf of Bothnia and the approaches to St. Petersburg against potential naval threats.

The Çatalhöyük Visitor Center project is nestled between the eastern and western mounds of Çatalhöyük, an ancient city with traces dating back to the 8th millennium BCE and renowned as one of the oldest settlements. Located 10 km east of Çumra district in Konya today, the area finds itself amidst vast fields stretching out like a grand carpet, interrupted unevenly by small villages. Archaeological excavations, which began in the 1960s with full vigor on the eastern mound, have been supported by excavation houses composed of a group of buildings since the 1980s, situated where the eastern mound flattens out, spanning a broad area.

Background. Since 2020, FARchitect has participated in the Tianyuhe Village landscape beautification project as the design party, and established close connections and trust with the village collective and villagers in design and on-site services. At the beginning of 2021, encouraged by the national rural revitalization policy, Tianyuhe Village collective decided to introduce “New Village Craftsman Residents” and turn four idle rural homesteads into “Craftsman’s House” homestays with the theme of craftsmen’s studios, as a model project for the village collective to explore new models of rural revitalization. The four “Craftsmen’s Houses” include the rural restaurant of the Chef’s New Village Resident’s Studio, the rural traditional Chinese culture museum of the Calligrapher’s and Painter’s New Village Resident’s Studio, the rural design center of the Architect’s New Village Resident’s Studio, and the rural homestay college of the homestay operator’s New Village Resident’s Studio. However, FARchitect had been deeply influenced by this new model of rural revitalization and accepted the invitation as New Village Resident Architect, becoming the masters of the rural design center.

Kunshan Urban Ecological Forest Park is located northwest of Kunshan City, approximately 4 km from the city center, covering a total area of 3,150 m2. It is a city park open to the public freely. On the left side of the south entrance, along the river, there was originally a sales office with a site area of approximately 1,310 m2. To make good use of this land, the owner decided to build a new visitor center here. The new building will be used for comprehensive services, park and urban administration. It was also expected that the building could be integrated with the landscape. We have also noticed that there is a big green space to the north of the site, rather unattractive, so we decided to include this space in the design for visitors.

The convergence of scientific innovation and socio-economic progress is a global pursuit, with nations leveraging Science and Technology for comprehensive development. In 1986, Gujarat established the Council of Science and Technology (GUJCOST) to address regional challenges within an international context. Dedicated to mitigating backwardness, rural unemployment, and poverty, GUJCOST is establishing community science centers across the state through public-private partnerships.