Community Center, Kindergarten and Landscape | China, Shanghai

Rational Symbolism – A Design Response to Integration

Fengxi Community, Huaxin Town, Qingpu District, Shanghai

Central Green Valley Program Concept Design

Huaxin Town: Positioned as the core area of the Hongqiao International Open Hub, Huaxin Town is renowned as the first express delivery town in China, highlighting its pivotal role in the logistics network.

Qingpu: Serving as the gateway city of the Shanghai metropolitan area, Qingpu is a new urban space that seamlessly blends the ancient charm of Jiangnan with the advancements of modern civilization.

The objective of this Design Mission was not to provide a coherent design syntax but to establish a diversifying contextual beginning that can serve as an aesthetic-philosophical reference for any style. We consider this the ultimate point of any integration.

Analysis of the Problem:

In addressing the multifaceted needs of diverse age groups—young, middle-aged, and elderly—it becomes evident that simplistic and uninspired designs fail to satisfy our profound emotional, intellectual, and spiritual demands. A truly fulfilling environment cannot be achieved by catering to isolated needs or imposing strict separations; instead, it must emerge through holistic integration, where the surroundings organically reflect and enhance our personal identities.

Design Response:

Mutual influences – Because it is Natural.

Influences of Architectural Elements:

Symbolic Ideogram of the Circle: The landscape design employs the circle in various interpretations, symbolizing unity and continuity, laying the foundation for an architectural lexicon.

Squaring the Circle: This concept represents the rational thought process, structuring the architectural narrative through logical compartmentalization and categorization.

Tree of Life: Illustrating interconnectedness, the Tree of Life metaphor highlights the intrinsic link between all components, with branches and fruits symbolizing different functions and their interdependencies.

The branching structure of the Tree of Life represents the natural growth of ideas and spaces, creating a dynamic and evolving environment. This interconnected design supports various activities and interactions, promoting a lively and cohesive community. Each element, from public to private spaces, contributes to the urban ecosystem’s overall harmony and functionality.

“Nothing in the universe exists in isolation. Everything is connected to every other thing.” – Gautama Buddha

Something about Basic Philosophical Guidelines.

Translating Potential into Reality.

Why Circle into Square?

Circle is potential. Infinite freedom in a cyclical representation.

Square is a category. A category made of 4 choices.

Solution: Find 4 points within the circle.

Four choices within freedom. Logically drawing, such squaring of the circle can offer an exit. Four objective choices standing in diagonal alignment across the central point.

The central point, if of a gravitational nature, implies a general direction. Direction implies a path, and the path is translating a possibility into actualization.

Doubling pairs, the number 2, has implications of the female principle. The whole phenomenon of the square, guided by Pythagorean mathematics, algebraically stands in the symbol of the woman, in the number 2.

A square implies two vertical and two horizontal lines in the case of a square that stands in an unequal side relationship (square in an unbalanced form – transitional period). Horizontal lines are closer to the center (the central point) than Vertical ones. The Earth symbol, in relation to the Heaven symbol, has a greater proximity to the Center in this case. Since the lines are representatives of content, we will assume that this is a place where further choices can be made, i.e., the final choices necessary for secure and permanent existence. Choices that do not arise as a consequence of the “pushing force of the Cosmos” but as entities in the making, pulled by the gravitational force from the future.