Architectural Design (idea, concept, feasibility, and schematic design)

Moon causes tides.

Listen to tidal waves and watch the moon's changing phases as they both are undergoing constant changes. It is human nature to watch the moon and listen to sounds from tidal movements. Our social awareness towards sustainability may only grow with motivation that is enlightened with the presence of senses in connection with nature.

The proposed Tide Gauge Station, TGS, runs extruded recycled aluminium tubes into seawater. The pipes transform tidal movements and ocean currents into soundscape with piston effect, and they are amplified in extruded recycled aluminium tubes. The pier is changed into a locality for visitors to rest and to connect with nature, appreciating moonscape in sky and listening to transformed soundscape generated from tides and currents.

“Recycling 1 metric ton of aluminium saves 6­­ tons of bauxite and 9 tons of CO2 emissions. Globally, the recycling of aluminium saves more than 100 million tons of CO2 every year.”

Aluminium is an energy bank. The equipment from HKO is housed within a shell of recycled aluminium. It is a sustainable building material that can be recycled. Our design proposes to take one step further by using post-consumed aluminium scraps collected from recycling facilities and construction sites and turning them into primary material for the building envelope and sound pipes of the proposed design. Only 5% of the energy is required to remelt the collected aluminium as opposed to refining from the ore. The aluminium does not lose any of its properties during the recycling process. Anodizing process converts the surface of aluminium into a long-lasting, high performance aluminium oxide finish. This layer is dense and provides excellent corrosion protection which makes it perfect for this project site.

Recycled aluminium, in extruded form, is proposed for the entire building envelope and the amplifying tubes. Its extrusion carries the traditional Chinese character, ‘moon’ in section. With its intimate relationship with mother nature, TGS is a showcase about how we may respect nature in many ways, not only functionally and aesthetically, but also materially.

月共潮生，再生再聚

明月共潮生， 受月所引，潮汐漲退有時，潮灌鋁管生嗚。

賞月 ， 觀潮 ， 聽濤生共嗚，人自樂在其中。

是次設計採用「再生鋁材」鑄件為建築外牆梳子及發聲管道材料，橫切成「月」字，為設計靈魂。再生鋁材又稱二次鋁，每頓再生鋁能耗僅為礦石取原鋁5%左右，低碳低成本低。再生鋁材與原鋁性能相同，可鑄造鋁合金鑄件。