Sprouting Castle Ruins
2020 Young Architects Competitions
Team: Hongbang Chen, Tuo Chen, Yushan Jiang, Tingdong Xiong | Summer 2020
The Tree House Module is the projection of a desire for adventure, a spurt of creativity, reconciliation with nature. It is the media between the built environment and nature. Our design is comprised of half arches as the main structure to support an enclosed cylinder volume with the eccentric circle shape for its plan. The half-arch idea not merely resonates with the unique formal features of medieval castles, but also defines the space under the tree house module for various outdoor activities. Additionally, generated by the process of shifting the center of the circle in plan, “the crack” brings the geometry a tendency of growing and also evokes an image of the castle ruins.
The duo of the tree house module will be permuted and combined to generate a vibrant living community (hospitality). With comfortable living services and wild experience, the newly-growing tourist attraction will be vitalized significantly.
Ruin Castles // Ebaupinay (left), Mothe-Chandeniers (middle), Vibrac (right)
Existing Condition // Castle Virbrac
Formal Readaptation
Our design is comprised of half arches as the main structure to support an enclosed cylinder volume with the eccentric circle shape for its plan. The half-arch idea not merely resonate the unique formal features of medieval castles but also defines the space under the tree house module for various outdoor activities.
Additionally, the crack is generated by the process of shifting the center of the circle in plan brings the geometry a tendency of growing and also evokes an image of the castle ruins.
Site Plan
Base on the existing site property, the tree houses will locate relatively different in different sites. In general, the tree houses are arranged to imitate the castle’s essence in different sites, and the connecting bridge is erected to imitate the nearby road system close to the castle.
In Mothe-Chandeniers castle and Château de l’Ebaupinay, there lies a symmetrical castle in the center spreading its influence. And with that influence, a perpendicular and square grid is developed for the tree houses to sit. Because of the scale of different castles, the grid is scaled to fit the castles’ impression. As for the bridge system connecting different tree houses, circular moat in Mothe-Chandeniers castle develop a similar curved bridge dominating the site. However, the tilted roads around Château de l’Ebaupinay produce a tilt road system that is straight on the right and tortuous on the left side, which is similar to the nearby clean road and circuitous braches. In Château de Vibrac, each edge of the castle represents the direction of the surrounding river. With such wile directions, four directional grid is generated as a reaction. The tree houses around the site are like the towers of the middle age castle, and the bridge is the wall that defines the boundary of the resort. By such planning, nature and castle are dialoguing with each other.
Treehouse Plan
Duo Treehouse // Treehouse Section
Wrapping around the trunk, module 1 provides a relatively playful interior space; whereas the structurally independent module 2 brings guests more immersive and tranquil spatial experience. The duo of the tree house module will be per-mutated and combined to generate a vibrant living community. With comfortable living services and wild experience, the newly-growing tourist attraction will be vitalized significantly.
Treehouse Interiors
Axonometric Drawing of Treehouse Cluster
Wall Section Detail (left) / Material Assembly (right)
