Identities- Origins: Polestar of Kortrijk

Identities will investigate how elements within a space can establish an interior’s identity through the consideration of structure, materials, form, detail, color, pattern, texture and finish. This project was driven by the consideration of materials which communicate a way of thinking about interior space, and the relationship between the existing building and my new addition , such as an ‘insertion’ or ‘installation’ , and how the existing / proposed building fabric should be treat as the ‘host’ space for my ‘insertion’ or ‘installation’, and design this piece tin detail.
I was asked to create a Polestar, something that serve as a guiding principle or center of attention, that can connect the City of Kortrijk with my home city (Chengdu, China), they are the twins for this project and identify artifacts that form connections and identify with cities and each other.
I start with finding out two artifacts, a ceramic soap dish with flax sticks from Kortrijk and glass
cup with bamboo placemat from (Chengdu) , clay and flax are materials embody artifact of Kortrijk, bamboo and glass are materials embody
artifact of Chengdu, these four will become my material palette.
Two artifacts and four materials will generate two drawings of conversations about the relationship between two places. Rivers are common ground of both cities, water will become the medium to links between them, I could imagine the scenery of floating tea cups and soap dish along the winding water, which is inspired from a Chinese old tradition, visitors can sit down drink tea, and communicate with each other around the river.
The spatial circulation is designed through combing the shapes of rivers choosing from two cities, and abstractly transforming them into the walk way made with glass bricks, this movement route could also divide space into different parts , that allowing installing or inserting kinds of shelves which could display artifacts and post cards, visitors to communicate and rest sitting on sets.