Harvest Pavilion Collects the Bounty on an Eco-Farm in China

The Harvest Pavilion is the first of four structures to be built on an eco-farm near Yang Cheng Lake, Kunshan, China. Designed by Beijing-based <a href="http://www.vectorarchitects.com/" target="_blank">Vector Architects</a>, the long, low building is meant to collect the harvest from the farm. In direct contrast to the ever-present high-rise buildings throughout the country, the Harvest Pavilion is vast and flat and a representation of the surrounding farm. Large roof overhangs provide plenty of shade, and natural daylighting reduces artificial light. Vertical louvers and prefabricated materials also aid in the sustainability of the facility.

The eco farm consists of 4 small scale public buildings: a club house, a harvest pavilion, a botanical showroom, and an information center.

Completed in 2012, the <a href="http://www.vectorarchitects.com/#/Vector%20Architects%20Projects/31" target="_blank">Harvest Pavilion</a> is the first of the 4 structures and will be used to collect, process and store the harvest from the farm.

As the farm is vast, flat, and wide open to sky, the pavilion is a reflection of that feeling of spaciousness and absorbs the landscape into its folds.

The pavilion was designed to be a simple, light, and translucent cuboid.

It features a horizontal thin plane hovering at the top, flying parallel with the horizon in the distance.

Transparent walls connect the interior with the exterior.

It is built with pre-fabricated aluminum rods and a cantilevered roof that overhangs at 4 different depths.

The shady space below becomes a transition zone from the farm to the interior.

Clad in floor-to-ceiling frameless glass panels and then covered with vertical laminated bamboo louvers, the pavilion is open and transparent.

Pivoting glass doors open the interior up to the exterior.

Cross breezes create a pleasant atmosphere with an immediate connection to the farmland.

Side elevation.

Floor plan of the harvest pavilion.