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Ancla 2
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THE GEOMETRY COMES FROM THE INTERPLAY OF THREE PLATONIC SHAPES, THE SQUARE WHICH IS REPRESENTED BY THE SITE, THE CIRCLE REPRESENTED BY BOTH THE LAKE AND THE BUILDING SHAPE AND FINALLY THE TRIANGLE AS THE GATE THAT OPENS TO THE SUNRISE.
Ancla 1
WISH was designed thinking about the future. It is a bold statement that responds to a bold context. WISH is the centerpiece of the lake, it will define the skyline of Shanghai Lingang New Town. The geometry comes from the interplay of three platonic shapes, the square which is represented by the site, the circle represented by both the lake and the building shape and finally the triangle as the gate that opens to the sunrise. During the day, WISH shines from east to west like a sun. At night, its image is reflected over the lake to be seen well beyond
The initial idea was to just have a disc propped up with a series of supports. This approach was then combined with the idea of a podium required to house the various conference, lobby, and other function. The result merges two contrasting geometries and materialities while also further enhancing the structural stability of the disc. It was a good device to transition from the landscape as the landscape climbs up the trapezoids. Moving forward with the design, the focus was on the interface between the elements. Given the geometry of the concave form, the question arose of how to approach the growing depth of the flow plate. Given that the hotel wanted to have a relatively shallow floor plate, the possibility of an atrium and balconies was explored.
The structure and façade were quite complex. With the façade, this was due in part to a desire to curve the glass so that the surface would appear smooth rather than faceted. This would be achieved through applying pressure to the edges of the parallelogram panels. The size of the panel, however, had to be carefully calculated both so that the correct curvature could be achieved and so that the structural support system could be as light as possible. A great deal of effort was placed in working out this structure of the façade in collaboration with Werner Sobek.
The ultimate building form responds to the natural split of the uses that it contains – the hotel wing pointing towards the south and the office wing towards the north. The two concave wings are identical in the overall geometry. As they reflect the richness of their respective programs, they become unique. As the office strives for efficiency, the hotel explores views through balconies, terraces, and sky gardens.
WISH emerges from the podium to a height of 170 meters. Its concave geometry efficiently absorbs the southern light for the living functions and the north light for the northern ones. It is fully exposed to the east and west. The podium contains all the support functions including exhibition, restaurants, amenities, meeting rooms, and auditoriums. Its architecture and materiality exists in contrast to the transparency of the wings. At the top, the podium is crowned by a reflective pool that will mirror the WISH into infinity.
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