A pavilion made of recycled plastic bricks

Hong Kong-based architectural firm Daydreamers Design created a pavilion made of recycled plastic bricks, inspired by the traditional local custom of the burning tower and sky lanterns in the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month and celebrates autumn harvests with lit up lanterns. The tradition goes back 2000 years.

Called the Wishing Pavilion, the installation by Daydreamers Design embraces this tradition while also raising awareness to today’s social challenge. Inspired by the traditional local custom of the burning tower and sky lanterns in the Mid-Autumn Festival, the pavilion has a circular form with a double helix layout leading the visitors around the burning lantern sculpture in the centre.

The burning tower is transformed into a perforated façade keeping the visitors visually and mentally connected between interior and exterior. The pavilion consists of two curved arches with a 10-metre span on the east and the west side and has a geometric structure inspired by traditional paper lantern crafting technique. In the middle, there is a skylight to have a view of the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The installation is made of 5000 bricks representing the 5000 years of Chinese civilisation. It also is a remark of the social revolution in Hong Kong in 2019. The bricks are made of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and have 7 gradient colours from yellow to red. With LED lights, sound effects and music, the 40 rings of plastic bricks featured a flaming gradient of the traditional burning tower.

Photos: Daydreamers Design