One of my favourite quotes I once came across is — ‘The moon stops for you’. The protagonist was given this line as a declaration of love from her crush. I can’t help but remember that line when looking at Syn Architects’ Hometown Moon. Instead of the moon stopping for us, chief architect Zou Yingxi constructs a moon to stop us in our tracks for admiration at different times of the day.
Nestled in Tai’an City,
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Part of the development included a Hometown Cloud — a
At just under 1,500 square metres, the chapel features a large
Heading below reveals a space held by pilotis while framing a venue space for socialising, ceremonial, and spiritual gathering. As natural light dips into the concave of the moon, the enclosed space is filled with majestic awe from the architectural lunation. Added with a serene landscape made with patches of
Accessing Hometown Moon Chapel equates to the experience of traversing the beloved Chinese Calligraphy paintings. Just as every painting begins with a bridge or a pavilion or a boat, visitors must begin their pilgrimage at the carpark to abandon their connection to the metropolitan area. Afterwards, like one must move their eyes upwards in the painting, visitors begin a journey through a curated path dotted by natural sounds of rustling leaves, flowing river and rustling trees, before finally arriving at the moon to sit and ponder the individual’s surrounding mental and physical space.
Simple, evocative, and wistful, Hometown Moon Chapel is a respectful infrastructure that gracefully weaves its natural surroundings with minimal artificial disturbance.
An architectural feat that equates to an installation that leaves you speechless — it truly completes the picture of the ancient Song Dynasty poem — “the clouds and the moon remain the same, but mountains and rivers evolve throughout time”.
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