“Our Regionalism Is Portable”: Antoine Predock Architects on Designing Contextually Across the Globe

For over a decade, Architizer’s A+Awards have been championing architectural excellence worldwide. This 12 months, this system celebrates native innovation with international recognition. Click on to enter earlier than the Foremost Entry Deadline on Friday December sixth. 

Though the sheer dimension of Chengdu’s 38 million-person inhabitants conjures pictures of extremely city topography, in actuality, the nickname of Sichuan’s capital metropolis is revealing: “The Backyard Metropolis on the Foot of the Snow Mountains.” Bordered by the Longmen Mountains within the northwest and the Qionglai Mountains due instantly west, town bursts with bamboo-laden inexperienced areas and set in a area smattered with lakes. These geographic options have performed a decisive position within the metropolis’s architectural development, as exemplified within the iconic heat, crimson geological profile of the gorgeous constructing that can host Architizer’s 2024 A+Awards Gala on November twenty first, 2024.

Designed by Antoine Predock Architects, LUXELAKES · The Water Theater stands out for its mixture of iconic crimson bush hammered concrete, all-glass structural glazing system, and regionally sourced granite and bronze cladding. Taken along with its extremely complicated massing — the constructing varies from one ground to 9 — the design seems like a geological formation rising alongside the lake and merging with the hillside. Drawing from Chinese language tradition, Sichuan’s panorama, the location’s agricultural historical past and the calls for of a brand new metropolis, the constructing couldn’t be a extra becoming venue for this 12 months’s gala, hosted in partnership with LUXELAKES · A8 Design Heart.

The constructing completely encapsulates the theme of the thirteenth Annual A+Awards: celebrating structure that balances native innovation with international imaginative and prescient. The present A+Awards program is inviting entries by way of December sixth, 2024, with international recognition and worldwide publication on supply for the winners. Get your entry began right here:

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Architizer’s Managing Editor Hannah Feniak sat down with Antoine Predock Architects’ Govt Senior Affiliate, Paul Fehlau, to debate the method for designing a contextual masterpiece in a rustic and tradition on the opposite facet of the world. Introducing the idea of “transportable regionalism,” he mirrored on the legacy of the agency’s founder and the LUXELAKES · The Water Theater in Chengdu.

Hannah Feniak: Architizer’s A+Awards gala will happen at LUXELAKES · The Water Theater on November twenty first, 2024, only one decade after work on the undertaking started. Reflecting again, how do you are feeling in regards to the undertaking, and the place does it sit for you within the context of your agency’s wider work?

Paul Fehlau: The undertaking holds a really particular place in our agency’s historical past. It was our first accomplished undertaking in China and a really particular design for a really particular and engaged consumer. The consumer needed to set the tone for his or her Luxe Lakes improvement with the Gateway Arts Heart and so they allowed us broad design latitude to interact the location entry and waterfront. The shoppers additionally supported the design with prime quality supplies and building. The constructing achieved a way of timelessness and we proceed to be pleased with the enduring fantastic thing about the undertaking.

LUXELAKES · The Water Theater by Antoine Predock Architect, Chengdu, China

Fashions from the undertaking’s design course of reveal how the constructing was, from the start, conceived as a part of the hilly topography surrounding the lake. The design additionally attracts from Chinese language tradition, Sichuan’s panorama and the location’s agricultural historical past. As an American agency, what have been the challenges of designing a extremely contextual undertaking from midway around the globe?

As Antoine all the time stated, our regionalism is transportable. He started his design follow right here within the Excessive Desert of New Mexico. It’s a harsh local weather with a deep pure and cultural historical past. It’s not doable to work right here efficiently with out taking these features in to account. Antoine constructed his follow on the principal of listening — that’s listening to the land, to geologic and cultural historical past, to the goals and needs of his shoppers, to the local weather and any vital features of a undertaking and web site.

We rigorously contemplate and catalog all of those understandings earlier than launching any design course of. This follow permits us to design buildings that resonate with landforms and other people removed from our dwelling. Our design follow was constructed on a spot, a area, however the they manner of interfacing with a individuals and a spot are relevant to all kinds of initiatives. Due to this fact — transportable regionalism. Antoine’s want to have a really particular understanding of every consumer, place and undertaking explains the explanation that no two Predock designs look the identical.

LUXELAKES · The Water Theater by Antoine Predock Architect, Chengdu, China

The constructing is very large, enclosing a complete of 250,000 sq. toes, with volumes starting from one ground to 9 flooring, with extremely accessible roofs with pathways, plazas and areas of greenery open to the general public. What have been the challenges of taking such a posh design from idea to actuality?

This system for the brand new construction was extra of a pleasure than a problem. The consumer’s encompassing imaginative and prescient for the brand new constructing gave us as designers a lot to work with — it was a humiliation of riches from a designer’s level to view. As you could know, the preliminary design for this system and constructing was fairly a bit greater than the constructing you see at the moment. One large problem was a change to the infrastructure within the luxe lake area through the early building course of. The design needed to be tailored to those new constraints throughout building. Because of the efforts of the consumer, contractor and native group one is unable to see that the constructing was considerably modified at this late stage.

LUXELAKES · The Water Theater by Antoine Predock Architect, Chengdu, China

 Along with its uniquely various massing, the constructing’s heat materiality stands out. Which supplies and constructing merchandise are central to the undertaking, and why have been they chosen?

The important thing materials for the undertaking is the bush hammered concrete. The colour is derived instantly from soil on the location. The hand bush hammering approach resulted in a superbly variegated floor recalling pure sandstone formations round Luxe Lakes. Different essential supplies embody the inexperienced roofs which mix the constructing into adjoining landforms. The solid bronze panels on the tower with their deep cultural resonance. And the polished chrome steel knife edges that soften the vanguard of the constructing and produce reflections of water and light-weight into the construction.

Which particulars in LUXELAKES The Water Theatre are you significantly pleased with and why?

The best way the constructing embraces the lake and gently and informally terraces all the way down to the water, creating pockets the place visitors can collect to speak, eat and expertise the waterfront. The waterfront expertise was all the time an essential a part of the design. However the precise expertise is best than we might have imagined.

LUXELAKES · The Water Theater by Antoine Predock Architect, Chengdu, China

What has the general public response to the undertaking been like?

We have now gotten a variety of very optimistic suggestions from shoppers and guests. I usually get emails and texts from different designers who’re visiting Chengdu and are available throughout the constructing. It’s a constructing that images effectively, however the images don’t do the constructing justice. You really want to expertise the house to get the complete impression. And I usually hear that individuals have been blown away by a go to to the middle.

Within the ten years because you took on this undertaking, Chengdu has grown and adjusted as a metropolis (as has the up to date design panorama in China extra broadly). How do you view this evolution in relation to your work on LUXELAKES · The Water Theater?

I haven’t been again to Chengdu in a couple of years however the final time I used to be at Luxe Lakes it was very rewarding to see the best way town had reached out to Luxe Lakes within the intervening years. It was additionally rewarding to see the best way that Luxe Lakes has advanced and thrived with so many new and modern buildings on the waterfront. Chengdu, from my first go to, was an amazingly lovely and interesting place and it’s been very rewarding to play a small half within the evolution of this essential metropolis.

LUXELAKES · The Water Theater by Antoine Predock Architect, Chengdu, China

Lastly, the theme of the thirteenth Annual A+Awards celebrates the best way that architects are mediating between the business’s international attain whereas responding to initiatives extremely native wants. The panorama of New Mexico famously impressed the late Antoine Predock, however initiatives resembling LUXELAKES The Water Theatre exhibit his sensitivity to native context on a world scale. As your agency appears to be like forward, how do you intend to hold his legacy ahead?

Throughout his lifetime, Antoine design course of thought-about land, local weather, vitality, tradition and time inside structure. He by no means meant that his course of would create a static outcomes however as a substitute would encourage design experimentation rooted in web site, local weather and humanity. Antoine was all the time carful to acknowledge that we has people solely have a restricted time and expertise within the small band between earth and sky and that we have to use our time to make individuals’s lives richer. In honoring Antoine’s legacy we proceed his experimental design follow centered on web site and culturally particular design.

For over a decade, Architizer’s A+Awards have been championing architectural excellence worldwide. This 12 months, this system celebrates native innovation with international recognition. Click on to enter earlier than the Foremost Entry Deadline on Friday December sixth.