Eastern Design Office : Tower of Ring

Anna Nakamura et Taiyo Jinno de l'agence d'architecture japonaise Eastern design office dévoile leur nouveau projet intitulé "Tower of Ring". Sur une esplanade, dans le nouveau quartier culturel de la ville de Tianjin en Chine, se dresse cette tour de 64 mètres de hauteur pour 12 mètres de diamètre.

Entre architecture et signal urbain, elle se compose d'une structure faite d'un entrelacs d'anneaux d'acier éclairés par des Leds.

Eastern Design Office précise:

"This tower is lucid. The visibility of this tower differs in accordance with the very motion of the atmosphere and every change of sky and light. No doubt this tower forgets that it is a tower. Building such a lucid tower in the middle of a big square, which is covered just by stones, can be referred to build a “void” in an empty space. This square is the center of downtown Tianjin. Accordingly it is a very important place. We dare to design a void space and emptiness, which has no sense of presence. This way of thinking is based on oriental ideas. This tower is very oriental.

People forget which one they look up to: the tower or the sky. It has an eye-opening shape, its beginning and ending is invisible. It is designed like a flow of stream, yet the form is very simple.

No observatory to climb up. No space to play. There is nothing inside. Only emptiness. It is a shape of waves, and a ring. It is a transparent vanity enclosed in a dragon shaped form. Lucid light pours into the empty tower. People’s happiness gathers around this serene tower.

A square is basically a place where various kinds of people can share an intimae feeling. Although they are strangers to each other, when they are at the square they can have a friendly feeling like good neighbors. It is a place where they can be assured to stand on the common ground despite each person has his own way of living, job, nationality, home village and age. The transparent tower is located at the center of the square.

For those who regard a tower as a place just to climb up, they are embarrassed to note that it has neither inside nor outside. For those who admire a tower as a symbol of power, the tower will loose a sense of presence by the effect of transparency. For those who admire a tower only by the scale and heights, they loose the sight of the beautiful sky where wind blows and the color of the air changes to transparency.

A bewildered modern tower. No ticket is necessary here. No judgment is also required whether it is useful or useless. No need to work like a slave, but just relax by the tower to dance, to walk, to take care of children, and to play, thus forget the time passed by lying down beneath the tower. This style is very oriental.

Scattered flying clouds in the sky. Splashing broken waves on the water surface. A dragon that swallows wind, drinks dews and rides on the mist. A beautiful dancing woman cladded with a thin clothe that reflects changes in the atmosphere. This tower represents soar without wings."

Photographies: Koichi Torimura

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Pour en savoir plus, visitez le site d'Eastern design office.