Category

Region

Light, Spring

Light, Spring

Category
Daylight investigations - Region 4: Asia and Oceania

Students
Zhenmin Zhang
Yuting Wang

School
Southeast University, Shandong Jianzhu University

Country
China

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Jinan is known as the “Spring City”. People have a long history of living by spring, which can be traced back to the Longshan Culture period more than 4,000 years ago.There are ancient courtyard houses and hutongs in the old city of Jinan. Many springs pass through the Hutongs, forming a spectacle of “every family with spring water, weeping willows in every household”.The spring in Jinan comes from the underwater in the southern mountainous area. It moves northward along the terrain and rises up when it encounters the blockage of the rock mass in the urban area, creating the unique 72 famous springs in Jinan.The fluctuation of spring is affected by precipitation and human use. In the early 21st century, there was a dry period for hundreds of days. It is people’s responsibility to protect the spring. Nowadays, spring is still closely related to people. People in the old city use the spring water to wash their clothes and drink it. Tourists can also taste, appreciate and enjoy the spring.The design extracts two expressions of spring water – vertical rising and horizontal transparency. We select streets and alleys in the old city that can lead to springs. Then we choose glass floor tiles with reflective coatings and textures which will replace broken floor tiles or be arranged beside the walls to reflect sunlight to the walls. The surface shows a sparkling effect. It expresses the commemoration of spring water, interprets the relationship between people and spring, and guides people to find spring in the old city.Using the transparent material, surface texture and reflection of glass, the shape of water patterns can be mapped on the wall, mixed with faint bubbles.Jinan’s wet season is summer and the dry season is autumn. It is located at 36.65° north latitude. The altitude angle of the sun at noon in summer is the highest, and the altitude angle of the sun at noon in winter is the lowest. Therefore, in summer and autumn, the water level of the spring is the highest of the year, and the reflection height of the light on the wall is also the highest. In winter and spring, it is the opposite. The height of the light on the wall indicates the fluctuation of the spring water. It also reminds people to protect the spring.