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Architects: Zaixing Architectural Design
- Area: 180 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Xiaobin Lv
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Manufacturers: Zhi Yuan Palm Fibre Technology Ltd.
Text description provided by the architects. Starting from Yibin, there is a grand rose industrial park named Meilinhuaxi hidden in Jingping Village, Dacheng Town, Pingshan County. As the first building that comes into view in the parking lot at the entrance to the industrial park, the Palm Toilet not only needs to meet the basic functions of restrooms but also assumes part of the attributes of public service space in scenic areas. The building is sited in a cove backed by a hill, with the frontage facing the parking lot and rose fields for expansive views, while two large trees remain on the site to screen the face of the hill wall, providing excellent privacy.
The project is divided into two levels, with four wooden functional square boxes arranged symmetrically along both sides of the central axis. On the ground floor, there is a disabled toilet with a tool room and a family bathroom on both sides and male and female toilets are on the first floor. On the layout, the toilet compartments are arranged as a middle island. On the one hand, it provides convenience for the smooth arrangement of pipelines, and on the other hand, it provides more possibilities for the selection of façade materials. The layout of the upper and lower floors makes it easy for visitors to rest on the ground floor and get a better view of the first floor.
The traffic stairs and handicapped ramp are located on the side of the hill, leaving excellent views to the side facing the flow of visitors. The sloped roof, supported by both steel and wood structures, enhances the efficiency of natural ventilation. The remaining space shaded by the roof is enclosed by palm panels with seating as a resting space for visitors, who can relax in the atrium and enjoy the view of the terraced rose fields and the idyllic scenery of villagers’ cultivation.
The climate in Sichuan is mild and rainy, with abundant timber resources. Local dwellings mostly adopt the perforated wooden frame system, and the roofs are often overhanging with large eaves, showing the overall light and dexterous style. This building extracts the typical features of traditional dwellings and makes innovative attempts at structure and materials. The color steel plates are used on both sides of the sloping roof, which has the advantages of low cost, sturdiness and practicality, and ease of construction, and is a popular material in rural construction today. Transparent sun panels are used in the middle section to bring light into the atrium; at night the light shines back out to illuminate the building.
Steel columns are used in the floor-to-ceiling structure to hold up the wooden frame that supports the roof. The wood structure is made of fast-growing pinus sylvestris. The timber frame was painted in its entirety in the same color as the steel columns and the roof, out of concern for the high moisture content of the timber, both to preserve the rot and to give the structure a visually enhanced integrity. The materials are mixed but not disordered.
The leaf sheath fiber of the palm tree in the mountains of southwest China has the characteristics of good elasticity, resistance to water and rot, breathable and moisture-proof, and resistance to moth-eaten, etc. People have been using it to make straw rain capes and palm fiber mattresses for nearly a thousand years. The design uses palm fiber in an innovative way, weaving it into thicker panels and forming an outer skin on the steel frame with a regular gradation of dense top and sparse bottom, in order not to block the visitors' view and to achieve a delicate balance between privacy and signage. As a building material, palm panels are tough and wear-resistant, dirt-resistant, and corrosion resistant to water and moisture, which are suitable for public toilet construction, extending the service life of the material. The loose and multi-seam internal structure can facilitate the ventilation of the toilet, responding to the regional cultural characteristics of rural construction from the aspect of materials.
As a key cultural tourism project to further polish the city name card of "Rose City and Romantic Capital", the Meilinhuaxi industrial park has attracted a lot of attention from tourists. The Palm Toilet, as the 'prologue' given by the scenic spot, responds to the local environment in terms of the overall image, material, and structure respectively in a simple and gentle way, and fits the rural appearance. On this basis, the quality and comfort of the use of brown latrines have been improved, making a good inspiration and demonstration for local township construction.
