> The Sounds of Wonderland​

> Australia

>FINALIST

Team Members:

​
Qian Huang,

Anthony Yun Zhou Lai

The aim of the proposal is to create a social interface, embedded in the community through the existing built fabric. It seeks to elicit a sense of wonder and discovery which acts as a catalyst to connect the diverse social groups of Hong Kong. Three major catchment areas were chosen; West Kowloon Corridor highway viaducts, Hung Hom Station, and Hung Hom Promenade.

Taking cue of sound from Hong Kong urban landscape, The Sounds of Wonderland explores notions of sound metaphysics in architecture. It attempts to harvest the temporal and spatial qualities of the metaphysical, and conveying them into a series of whimsical spaces that will present its participants with a fantastical and joyful experience through the abstraction of meaningful atmospheres and narratives.

The experiential journey towards healing and feeling whole unfolds in a sensitive composition in the Wonderland; from warm individualised retreat-like spaces the ‘self-consciousness’ therapies invite participant to ‘reinvigorate and find himself’. Feeling encouraged, the participant steps out of comfort zone and explores. Intrigued by the sensual acoustics of surrounding environments, the participant converges into ‘pockets’ where other participants are gathered in small groups.

Within this realm of mischievous spaces, participants are presented with poetic moments to foster meaningful dialogues. Eventually, the pockets of participants are traversed into a ‘central forum’ where they gather and contemplate. The seamless overlapping of all spaces will use the sound of activities, the light created by the architecture, distinctive wayfinding and the movement of participants to build a place of exchange.

Ultimately, The Sounds of Wonderland houses an alternative reality where healing experiential journey is conceived, in which the rhythmic compartmentalisation of sensory therapies converge with the healing potential of atmospheric space, is pertinent to the stimulation of meaningful interactions. All the while being able to coexist with the reality we all live in.