Silver Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2022
Cetacean Whale Exhibition Center
by Yihao Tong
- A' Design Award 2022 Silver Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2022
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 19,516
- Verification code ADAD63DE84 · Verify this award
About Cetacean Whale Exhibition Center
As a temporary and yet to be completed project. The cultural building is expected to be in Iceland as a travel destination. The bionic form of the whale tail and skeleton became the language of this building. The whole building is eco-friendly. All materials can be recycled and use natural light. Not only will the designers be creating architecture in yet another remarkable landscape, but they will also take part in increasing the understanding of whales and the preservation of marine life.
Situated within the evolving tradition of culturally responsive museum architecture, the Cetacean Whale Exhibition Center by Yihao Tong demonstrates how contemporary designers draw inspiration from the very subjects their buildings serve to celebrate, creating structures that function simultaneously as vessels for knowledge and as architectural embodiments of their thematic content. The building's sweeping roofline appears to translate the graceful movement of cetacean forms into built geometry, a formal strategy that connects visitor experience to marine mammal appreciation before one even enters the exhibition spaces within. The material palette reveals thoughtful consideration of context and meaning, where the warm timber screen wrapping the structure suggests both the vernacular building traditions of northern coastal communities and the organic materiality that might metaphorically reference the natural world the center documents. This wooden element creates a permeable threshold between interior and exterior, allowing views through while providing solar modulation and visual rhythm along the building's considerable length. The concrete foundation volumes demonstrate structural honesty, their precise geometry anchoring the fluid superstructure to the terrain with a clarity that separates the building from its landscape even as the white roof seeks chromatic unity with the surrounding snow. The architectural visualization captures the design at a moment of atmospheric poetry, winter light softening all contrast and allowing the building's form to read as a meditation on the relationship between human cultural institutions and the natural phenomena they interpret for public understanding. One might observe how the composition invites contemplation of architecture's capacity to embody reverence for the living world, raising questions about how built form might inspire conservation awareness and ecological appreciation among those who encounter it.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- As a temporary and yet to be completed project. The cultural building is expected to Iceland as a travel destination. The bionic form of the whale tail and skeleton became the language of this building. Whole building is eco-friendly, All material can be recycle and use naturel light. Not only will tad studio be creating architecture in yet another remarkable landscape, but tad studio will also take part in increasing the understanding of whales and preservation of marine life.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 50 meter long ，40 meter wide ， 7 meter high
- Tags
- Contemporary Architecture， exhibition， eco-friendly， Atmosphere
- Production Technology
- Wood mortise and tenon joint, Concrete placement, Glass curtain wall
- Design Challenge
- The project focuses on environmental protection and culture exhibit . The shape is similar to the tail of a whale, echoing the whales on the sea, and the curved roof prevents snow accumulation. Interior with different heights of glass curtain walls offering different views. All materials can be recycled. The interior space retains part of the original environment, Arouse people's reflection on human activities has caused irreversible damage to Iceland's natural environment.
- Project Duration
- This project was developed in Italy, Milan during a period of 4 months, from August 2021 to December 2021. The location planned for the project to be implemented was in Husavik Iceland.
- Operation Flow
- Designed as two raised cornice, the surface of the building resembles the tail of a whale when diving, creating an imaginary connection between the land and the underwater world. The external public landscape allows locals and visitors to lie and sit and enjoy the sun during the summer months. During the winter, observe the aurora or sea whale migration through the eaves of different heights inside. The interior retains some of the original landscape vegetation and stones. The exhibition wall divides the floating space inside.
- Research
- The town of Husavik sits on the eastern shore of Shaky Bay, known around the world as Whale Capital of Iceland. In the past years whales have been spotted in 98% of all whale-watching trips. The curved roof becomes a new viewpoint that visitors and locals can see whale or the northern lights dancing over the sky. As a result of this curvature, snow build-up will be minimized. which is favourable for both material and energy consumption.
- Inspiration
- Husavik is one of best whale watching place which at the edge of the continent, and the continental plate disappears into the sea. The ocean surface separates the two worlds. The architecture shape inspiration comes from the frequent exposure of whales' tails on the sea, It seems to be the communication between underwater creatures and the land. The motive is to create a space to increase the sense of experience to feeling climate change by integrating the architecture with the surrounding lan
- Image Credits
- Architect/Yihao Tong 2021