Osmosis Centrum Peregrinatorum ab Cen Shen and Changsong Li

Opus Osmosis Centrum Peregrinatorum a designatore Cen Shen and Changsong Li est victor maxime honoratus praemii praestigiosissimi 2026 Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum in Categoria Certaminis Architectura.

AesArchitectura· 2026

Osmosis Centrum Peregrinatorum

a Cen Shen and Changsong Li

Cliens: Changsong Li & Cen Shen

Victor praemii Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum in Categoria Architectura

5,794

Victor Praemii Verificatus

Verifica Statum Praemii pro #182593

Vide apud A' Design Award Communicatum Insigne Praemii

Colores

Designum

De Osmosis Centrum Peregrinatorum

Osmosis est centrum peregrinationis et educationis in urbe El Paso, in Texia, situm. Consilium huius operis ex geometria stagni sicci in arida regione inspiratur. Superficies organicae in geometrias conicas rectilineas convertuntur, ita ut tectum undulatum trabibus ferreis rectis et tabulis modularibus aedificari possit. Canales occulti intra margines tecti aquam pluviam colligunt. Muri graves ex terra pisata cum parietibus vitreis ad totam altitudinem coniunguntur. Dispositio porosa circa atrium centrale ordinatur, quae visitatores cum terra circumiacente coniungit.

Agnitio

De Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum

Osmosis Centrum Peregrinatorum victor est Praemii A' Design Award Aeneum, honoris multum aestimati formis egregiis, creandi ingenio, sollertia et acumine insignibus dati. Victores Aenei opera perita et mire creandi sunt, quae experientiam, imaginationem et solertiam auctorum suorum confirmant. Exspectatur Osmosis Centrum Peregrinatorum rem multum aestimatam, admiratam et carissimam, notabiliter professionalem et novam fore. Haec forma Aeneo victa optimas consuetudines artis, scientiae, formandi rationis et technologiae amplectitur et in cura minutiarum excellit. Osmosis Centrum Peregrinatorum necessitates egregie explet, cupiditates tangit, sensus capit et curiositatem allicit.

Post Designum

Fasciculus Nuntii

Merita, sodales gregis et singula technica a designatore praebita.

Proprietates Singulares: Reflecting the concept of osmosis, the center's non-centric layout allows tourists to feel like an integral part of the landscape. By contrasting heavy rammed earth with transparent all-glass walls, the architecture dissolves physical barriers, fully absorbing visitors into the terrain. Additionally, the undulating roof responds directly to El Paso’s arid climate, utilizing concealed gutters for a vital water collection system that ensures long-term ecological resilience.
Dimensiones et Involucrum: Osmosis is a large-scale civic infrastructure organized around a central radial courtyard. The technical envelope combines high thermal mass rammed earth walls and expansive structural glazing, optimized for arid climates. The conical roof spans are constructed using straight steel beams mapped to conical generators, supporting modular panels and concealed stormwater gutters. The facility houses tourism and education centre function spaces.
Notulae: Parametric Architecture, Migrant Service Center, Geometric Rationalization, Conical Geometry, Porous Space, Rammed Earth Construction, Sustainable Infrastructure, Border Architecture
Technologia Productionis: Osmosis uses geometric rationalization to translate organic surfaces into ruled conical geometries. Mapping a structural grid along the cones' straight-line generators allows efficient construction of complex curvature using straight members and modular roof panels. Concealed gutters within the roof's edges preserve the undulating canopy's seamless purity, while full-height glass walls dissolve visual boundaries to maintain an uninterrupted connection with the landscape.
Provocatio Designandi: The main challenge was translating fluid ecological concepts into buildable architecture. Socially, the design shifts historical paradigms of environmental exploitation toward ecological education. Externally, harsh regional climates dictated strict parameters. Production limits were overcome using advanced parametric technology, rationalizing complex undulating curvatures into modular conical geometries to enable cost-efficient construction using strictly straight steel members.
Investigatio: This applied research designed a cost-efficient, climate-responsive sanctuary. Using structural, solar, and sightline simulations alongside climate data, various roof geometries were tested. Simulated tourist viewpoints, water-saving calculations, and material metrics determined the optimal shape. Results proved this form maximizes daylight control, water harvesting, and nature views while significantly reducing structural costs. This offers an economical, ecological hub that deeply absorbs visitors.
Inspiratio: The primary inspiration for this project stems from the severe environmental crises of water depletion and soil salinization in the arid landscapes of El Paso. Observing the profound disconnect between human infrastructure—specifically the forceful industrial separation of water and salt through desalination—and the fragile ecosystems it occupies, the design emerged as an architectural counter-narrative.

Operating as an ecological tourism and education center, the project is motivated by the need to attract visitors while actively educating the public about these pressing environmental urgencies. The central motive is to foster a profound union between humanity and the natural environment through the conceptual framework of "osmosis," seeking to heal the separation between people and the ecology they inhabit.

Furthermore, the formal language and shape of the building are directly inspired by the El Paso terrain itself, capturing the stark realities of regional water scarcity. Specifically, the architectural massing and undulating rooflines draw upon the distinct geometry of a dry pond, serving as a direct visual and spatial allusion to the parched earth and the environmental narrative driving the design.
Duratio Operis: Developed as an architectural project in 2023 , Osmosis is situated at El Paso, Texas.
Cursus Operationis: This undulating canopy transforms flat surfaces into a flowing wave. It isn't "operated" by machines, but by nature: visitors interact by walking beneath its shifting heights, moving between airy, sunlit peaks and shaded, intimate dips. It performs significantly better than a standard flat roof because these precise curves naturally channel rare rainwater into concealed edges and optimize cooling airflow, creating a highly efficient, climate-responsive desert oasis.
Membra Turmae: Changsong Li, Cen Shen
Agnitiones Imaginum: Image #1: Creators Changsong Li and Cen Shen, Osmosis: Dissolving The Borderline, 2023.
Image #2: Creators Changsong Li and Cen Shen, Osmosis: Dissolving The Borderline, 2023.
Image #3: Creators Changsong Li and Cen Shen, Osmosis: Dissolving The Borderline, 2023.
Image #4: Creators Changsong Li and Cen Shen, Osmosis: Dissolving The Borderline, 2023.
Image #5: Creators Changsong Li and Cen Shen, Osmosis: Dissolving The Borderline, 2023.