The Possibilities Of Pavilion, Three Ecological Pavilions By The Sea / HCCH Studio

Architects: HCCH Studio
Year: 2024
Photography: Qingyan Zhu
Pavilion A: Sea Snail, PES Membrane Pavilion
Design Team: Hao Chen, Chenchen Hu, Yu Xiao, Xi, Cai, Yida Hou
Pes Membrane: Serge Ferrari Group
Pavilion B: Wave Breaker, 3d-print Plastic Pavilion
Design Team: Hao Chen, Chenchen Hu, Ziyan Ge, Yida Hou, Yifan Zhu
3D Printing: Xuberance
Pavilion C: Corel Reef, Recycled-brick Pavilion
Design Team: Hao Chen, Chenchen Hu, Ziyan Ge, Yida Hou, Wenxi Li
Recycled Brick Supplier: Hongjie Xu
Period Pavilions: 2022-2024
LDI Pavilions: Shanghai Youwei Engineering Design Co., Ltd.
City: Pudong
Country: China

The Possibilities of Pavilion, designed by HCCH Studio, consists of three ecological pavilions along Shanghai’s Lingang coastline. Completed in 2024, these structures integrating marine science themes with innovative design. The pavilions known as “Membrane Sea Snail,” “3D-print Plastic Wave Breaker Splash,” and “Recycled Brick Coral Reef,” use sustainable materials and abstract marine symbols to enhance the surreal coastal landscape.

The possibilities of pavilion, three ecological pavilions by the sea / hcch studio

The Lingang Coast Ecological Pavilions, are part of the Shanghai Lingang Ecological Restoration Project. These three small structures are distributed along the 17-km coastline, serving as both landmarks and eco-educational exhibits. They provide basic resting spots for visitors while emphasizing ecological awareness.

The design of the pavilions addresses three key aspects: creating distinctive and engaging features within the site constraint and budget, occupying space without exceeding floor area ratio (FAR) limits, and incorporating marine science themes into their form and materials.

The flat, open landscape of the Lingang coastline, with its surreal atmosphere and elements like wind turbines and wave breakers, informed the design strategy. The pavilions are conceived as follies, enhancing the landscape’s unique character with their unconventional shapes and materials. They lack roofs, instead using large enclosing walls, frameworks, and porous materials to expand their spatial capacity. Marine symbols are abstracted and combined with eco-friendly materials, imbuing the pavilions with educational significance from both visual and structural perspectives.

Due to the considerable distance between them and their distinctiveness each pavilions is designed as an individual installation, with unique forms and materials to maximize recognition. However, they all share certain characteristics: recognizable forms, porous structures, and a function as educational exhibits. Throughout their construction, the three pavilions have been informally named: “Membrane Sea Snail,” “3D-print Plastic Wave Breaker Splash,” and “Recycled Brick Coral Reef.”

The “Membrane Sea Snail,” located beneath a large wind turbine, consists of eight steel arches forming an inside-out structure covered with a silver fabric membrane. The base naturally forms a semi-circular bench. Originally designed with biomimetic protrusions, the final structure features a smooth surface due to budget constraints. Eye-shaped openings offer sea views and reduce the membrane’s coverage, while the semi-transparent fabric adds a futuristic touch. Visitors can dine with their families under this dome.

The “3D-print Plastic Wave Breaker Splash,” near the Donghai Bridge, creates a porous space resembling Chinese scholar stones, allowing visitors to walk through wave-like artificial rock formations. Made up of 228 standardized 3D printed units in blue and green, these units support each other to form a modular, variable experience. Originally intended to be made from recycled plastic, the structure instead uses high-strength plastic with embedded steel frames to withstand strong coastal winds.

The “Recycled Brick Coral Reef,” located at the eastern end of the coastline near the Compass Fish landmark, adopts an organic form similar to concrete artificial coral reefs. The pavilion consists of a 300mm thick porous wall with an empty interior to avoid exceeding FAR limits. The wall is made from recycled red brick fragments, with a rough chiseled surface and Corten steel plates for openings. The hexagonal motif is consistent across wall openings, grass concrete pavers, and furniture. The wall serves as a climbing structure for sea views, while the interior space allows for recreational activities like card games and barbecues.

The Lingang Ecological Three Pavilions aim to create intriguing points of interest along the extensive coastline. Unlike typical architectural projects, they bridge landscape features, public art, and infrastructure, coordinating multiple factors and natural conditions. Although not all material experiments were fully realized, these small, distinctive structure represent a positive intervention in large-scale infrastructure projects.