Baku, April 24, AZERTAC
Growing from the artificial lake at the center of Wujin, China is a fantastic new structure – “The Lotus Building” from Australian architecture firm Studio 505, according to Visual News. The exquisitely beautiful building takes its form from the blooming lotus flower, and throwing the formality of most government institutions aside, is the home to departments of the city’s planning bureau.
Entered from a facility below the surface of the lake, the new building houses brightly lit exhibition halls, meeting rooms and conference centers that are as stunning and fanciful as the exterior. Inside and out the structure is covered with a mosaic of hexagonal tiles, merging interior and exterior into a seamless whole.
The external ‘petals’ of the structure are filled with colorful ribs which emulate the flower like appearance of the structure – something that is further enhanced by atmospheric lighting at night.
Considering its natural form, it’s only appropriate that The Lotus Building is designed with the importance of the environment in mind. Studio 505 explains: “The project has been designed to minimise energy usage- with over 2500 geothermal piles driven through the base of the artificial lake, The entire lake water mass and ground beneath is utilised to pre-cool (summer) and pre-warm (winter) the air conditioning systems for both the lotus and the two storey building beneath the lake. The project is also mixed mode and naturally ventilated and utilises evaporative cooling from the lake surface to drive a thermal chimney within the main flower pod.”
