Zeyi Xie
Helmets
The project draws from Henry Moore's Helmet,connecting the interior of the sculpture resembling an abstracted human head to generate various other bodily structures. Like alchemy, these different anatomical structures are stitched together to form a singular body, which is then fully covered by the external helmet, encasing the entire body and forming a shell that is physically hard but visually soft.
Render - Axon
This project is located in Suzhou, a southern city in China near Shanghai. The reconstruction of Suzhou North Railway Station retains the existing train tracks, with a length of 1,312 ft and a width of 328 ft, covering a building area of 536,850 sq.ft. The local government plans to develop a transit-oriented development (TOD), they want to add more tracks to the train station to increase its capacity for handling more passengers, thereby revitalizing the entire area. However, the argument of this project is to create a city living room to achieve this goal. Suzhou North Station is not the primary station in Suzhou. Consequently,it does not need to handle a large passenger flow, and trains often pass through without stopping.Three museums above the train station, as well as convention center, offices and hotels. Suzhou's culture can be explored in the exhibitions without having to leave the station.
Drawings
Helmet Head developed from Moore's pre-Second World War explorations of the relationship between interior and exterior forms and the notion of the body as a protective shell. A conventional helmet is a protective surround. The exterior form conforms to what it encloses. Moore's Helmet, however, extends beyond the utilitarianism of the traditional helmet by incorporating artistic processing. The exterior of the sculpture is a truncated, elliptical shell, while the interior features an abstract face. The inside shape is wrapped by the external form but the two are separated and different.
Elevation
In the Gnostic Architect, the internal space of the Helmet is divided into five parts: the external shape of the helmet (outside of the outside), the internal space of the helmet (inside of the outside), the space between the interior and exterior (the glue), the shape of the head(inside of the outside), and the internal space of the head (inside of the inside).
The head forms enclosed rooms (inside of the inside) such as restaurants and cafés, while the newly formed bodily structures (inside of the outside) are used for relaxation, viewing platforms, and open exhibition areas. The blood vessels connecting all the body structures (the glue) become the building's structural and circulatory systems. The helmet forms the facade (outside of the outside) and houses more fixed programs like hotels and offices. The three rectangular museums, elements distinct from the others, horizontally traverse the entire building, allowing them to encompass all five types of spaces within a relatively compact area.
Axonometry
“The sculpture could serve as a psychological model for perpetual unraveling, in the sense that one could continue to go further and further in. More pieces, more spaces, more tension. So the model can be understood as either finite or infinite. Helmet is also an aesthetic amalgam for the relationships between shapes. Outside and inside are both coincidental and discontinuous. Fit and misfit.”(Gnostic Architect - Eric Owen Moss)