The Levitated Curtain – Xi Hall

Guangzhou, China

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The Levitated Curtain – Xi Hall

Guangzhou, China

Firm

SayArchitects

Type

Cultural › Hall/Theater

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2021

SIZE

0 sqft - 1000 sqft

“I want to walk in here with my barefoot”

Located in a resort in the outskirts of Guangzhou, the Levitated Curtain is an iconic building for wedding ceremonies and public events. In Guangzhou, weddings usually start at 7 am, but the ceremony only begins around 6 pm, then Xi Hall will serve as a multifunctional space for dining, photo shooting, reception and several other purposes in the day, and becomes a sacred place for the wedding ceremony at nightfall. When there are no weddings, Xi Hall which sits in the center of the resort will be a perfect location for sightseeing and allow public events for different occasions.

Wok Room
The unique streamline of Xi Hall was inspired from the Wok Room, a traditional residential architecture from Lingnan area of China that featured with wok-handle-shaped pediment. Wok is a cooking pot originated from China, the hump in the middle of the pediment looks like the handle of the wok, then it is called Wok Wall, which helps to block the wind or the fire, and serves as a main bearing structure of a house.

The architect abstracted the shape of a wok wall and applied it to the east and west elevation of Xi Hall, by which two wok-wall-shaped openings were created, connecting the interior to the outdoor landscape. Between the walls with the special openings, there is a curved roof sloping towards the grassland in the north like an elegantly draped curtain.

Floating Curtains
Looking through the void of the“wok walls”, the dark curved roofs is floating and dancing like three curtains. The structure under the ceiling is painted white, almost invisible if you look at the building from the east or the west perspective; when the lights come into the hall through the U-shaped glass wall, the entire building is calmly“floating”above the ground.When the night falls, the space is illuminated from the inside, then the sense of volume is highlighted with the light,making the architecture a Kongming lantern that is about to levitate, bringing blessings to the nature and the people here.

The curtain-like streamlined roof endows the building with an embracing gesture, holding mountains, forests and rivers into its arms, thus a space of spirit and nature was created, allowing more air and light to flow into the building, and bringing out a demeanor of floating in the stillness.

Open and Connected
As a place for gathering and sharing, the architect looks forward to bringing more flexibility to the space to connect the activities inside the hall and the fabulous landscape outside. Eventually it is a completely open space, adding a romantic touch to the spirituality of nature with a modest but welcoming gesture.

The architect also designed an Ω-shaped corridor attached to the hall, echoing with the wok-wall- shaped openings while connecting the hall with the nature behind. Along the path, people will witness the important moment of a wedding when the father is taking his daughter to the groom. At nightfall, the setting sun cast its golden lights through the wok-wall-shaped openings to the couple as well as every corner of the space. The open structure enables Xi Hall with more functions. When there is no wedding, people can enjoy multiple activities here, including dining, lectures, gatherings or simply taking a rest.

The green lush inside the resort indulges the visitors in the tranquility and peacefulness, then the graceful and serene Xi hall lightened people’s eyes upon their arrival. A bride who celebrated her wedding here once said,“I wanted to wall in here with my barefoot”.