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Archiol Render Challenge - 1st Prize Winners | Interview

China

Jiaman Xu

Ruiheng Zeng

Xiaoxin Wang

Jiaman Xu

1. Can you introduce yourself in a personal and professional way?
We are both architecture students. Based on our passion for architecture, we chose architecture as our major in college. Now we are preparing for the postgraduate application.

2. What is your design philosophy?
The building is a conceptual, a concept that came into being when we were discussing whether buildings can play a rescue role in natural disasters when we thought of forest fires. In recent years, more and more natural disasters have occurred, so we want to explore whether there is an opportunity to reduce some of the losses caused by disasters by combining our major. In the case of large and severe forest fires, it is difficult to guarantee the lives of animals. Countless wild animals die in the fires or are displaced, which has aroused people's concern. Therefore, we wanted to provide them with a temporary shelter, which could provide shelter and habitat for the animals when the disaster occurred and the forest was restored after the disaster. Based on this idea, we designed the animal protection building.

3. What was your feeling when the winners were announced?
It is a great honor to win the first prize of Archiol's Render Challenge 2021, and it is the first time for us to win such a contest. We are very happy and excited. When we received the email, we even thought it was a scam email, and couldn't believe it was true. I really appreciate the organizer's recognition and appreciation of our drawings. Although we are all ordinary students, we really did it! The arrival of this award gives us a great surprise, and also makes us more confident that we can go further in the field of architecture in the future!

4. Can you briefly explain the rendering process, source of ideas and, your understanding of the topic?
For this contest, we all agreed that design is more important than technology. Good rendering performance is based on a complete design. As mentioned above, the idea of animal rescue came into being when we were discussing the functions of buildings in the event of natural disasters. We were thinking about how to shelter animals in such a large forest when a fire broke out. It was unrealistic for a huge building to cover the whole forest. So we came up with the idea of attracting animals to create a relatively cool place when a fire occurs. A circle is a shape that can cover the most area, so it can create the largest cold zone. Similarly, the taller the building, the larger the area we affect. So we set the tone for the building. And then we went further and we got this building. And then how to present the building, even if you have a good design concept, if you don't know how to express it, it's still a fatal problem. Therefore, we thought of the way of expression from the close shot to the distant view, which can not only show the interior details of the large building but also show the overlooking effect of the whole building in the forest, making the whole composition look rich and magnificent.

5. When and how you were first introduced to Architecture?
XU: I studied science in high school, but I am a person who loves art and painting. Therefore, when I applied for a university major, I chose architecture that combines rationality and sensibility, technology and art.

WANG: This is the first time I learned about architecture when I applied to college in 2017. I learned about architecture as a major.

ZENG: I learned about this profession when I was in high school, and then I was attracted by it, so I decided to work in the construction industry in the future.

interview - video

Forest fires have always been a desperate topic. In the case of severe forest fires, it is difficult to protect the lives of animals. The Amazon rainforest in 2019 and the Australian forest fires in 2020 caused devastating damage. Countless wild animals died in the fire or were displaced, causing people's attention. It is precise because of these facts that the rescue of wild animals in fires needs to be widely recognized, and we need to provide them with a temporary shelter.
The refuge site is in New South Wales, Australia, which is hot and less rainy, which is one of the places prone to forest fires. When a fire occurs, the building uses the collected water to spray water through a spray device to form a low-temperature environment and attract animals to take refuge.
In order for our animal shelter to be self-sufficient to the greatest extent possible without human intervention, the operation of the building depends entirely on natural forces. According to realistic theories such as energy conversion, we set up rainwater and fog collection devices to solve the water problem of the building. The fog is converted into water and rainwater is collected to the water storage device at the bottom of the building, which can provide a continuous supply of the ecological environment inside the building. Provide water resources.
The refuge restores the original living environment of Australian animals as much as possible and ensures internal ecological diversity. In order to reduce the damage to the natural ecological environment, we spiral up the ecological layer to reduce the footprint of the building and recreate different ecological environments on the spirally rising ramps and natural environments that can provide sufficient refuge space for animals. Including the basic natural environment such as pools, swamps, grasslands, woods, etc., so that it is divided on each layer but connected to each other. For example, kangaroos like to run in the bushes, koalas will sleep on eucalyptus trees, wild dogs are used to hunting in the desert, platypuses usually hide in caves by the water, and ostriches with strong adaptability are suitable for most environments, such as open plains, forests or the desert doesn't matter to them.
After the fire, the forest is slowly recovering, and the animals can return to the natural environment and rebuild their homes. Of course, the animals can continue to stay inside the building, and the food chain can maintain the relative balance of the ecological layer. Animals can enter and leave the building at any time to increase the sense of familiarity and belonging. Perhaps more lives can be saved the next time a fire occurs.