Citizens of Qingdao have a strong sense of belonging to the sea, and this sense of belonging can be seen in every part of the public activities in this coastal city. Pier 6, where the cruise Terminal located, is surrounded by blue water and has the inherent advantage of developing a recreational park that combined with yacht rental services. With the complementary commercial functions and landscape, permanent and temporary exhibitions at the arrival and departure hall, the multi-functionality of the cruise terminal ensures that liveliness and richness of this coastal city can be sustained.
Considering Qingdao’s prevailing northwest wind in winter, and the superior landscape conditions at the site’s south bay, this project includes a degrading terrace towards the South under the large structural span of steel, forming a major outdoor public platform. At the North façade on the third floor, there are a few outdoor sightseeing platforms for sea viewing, at the same time, providing partial interactive connections between the North and South sides. Similar to decks on the boat, these platforms provide space for relaxation and activities.
For this project, inspiration of the architectural form came from the “sail”, which is famous in Qingdao, The city of Sailing, as well as rows of pitched roof from Qingdao’s historical architecture. To further express the mechanical beauty, the steel structure is exposed on the exterior without curtain walls, so that the structural form becomes the most powerful language of the façade. The interior sprung roof reveals the main structure as possible as it can, so that passengers are still able to read the structural logic and mechanical beauty of the architecture.
Interior and light
The arrival and departure hall on the first floor provides checking-in and luggage services. After that, through vertical lifts and walkways, passengers will arrive on the second-floor Foyer and wait for departure. The customer service is also located on the second floor. Its skylights, through the combination of aluminum board and glass, have transformed the inclined surface of the roof into stepped ramp, which has not only solved the problem of floodwater containment, but also introduced soft light with the modular rhythm of light and shadow. Meanwhile, the public hall of the cruise terminal can also hold temporary exhibitions and so on public activities.
The combination of different programs makes the cruise terminal become a daily leisure place for the public. At night when artificial lights bright up the indoor space, the transparent glass curtain wall will transform the entire architecture into a lantern illuminating the surrounding public plaza and green space.
Photography by Zhang Chao, Xia Zhi
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