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Kung Fu Arena

“It is [...] plausible to say that each successful play produces a form. After all, coaches try to teach plays by drawing „their“ forms on the chalkboard. Once these plays happen, however, they are embodied forms and forms-in-movement.“

by  Hans-Ulrich Gumbrecht

The martial art of Kung Fu is all about forms-in-movement and embodied forms. Martial Arts need their combatants to be aware of their 360 degree surroundings, therefore the space needed to stage a fight is often circular. In order to express these movements best, we decided to build a circular arena.

In China, Kung Fu refers to any skill or discipline achieved through hard work and patience and therefore to any study, learning or practice that requires patience, energy and time to complete. This would lead to the conclusion that architecture could also be seen as some kind of Kung Fu. Five Elements play an important role in Kung Fu and are especially appreciated in combat. We rediscovered those Five Elements at the site and they became the foundation of our project. Topography is earth, wood is the trees, water is the ponds and the little streams, fire is the sun and metal is all the shooting structures.

The Kung Fu Arena is located where all the elements meet. At this point, a stream artificially cuts through the mound. We take over this breakthrough by dismantling the mound and shifting it around to the outside. A void, a new room emerges: the Kung Fu Arena.

Coming from the Schweighofstrasse, the connection to the city, the street transforms into a path which then slowly rises up to our mound. The mound continues until it dissolves into the forest. The dissolving represents a deep philosophy of Kung Fu, the nothingness.

On the fields around the arena, thatch will be planted, based on a radial system. The system is hierarchized: Near the arena, the planting is more dense whereas farer away, it slightly fades out. The different thatch groups create different spaces or rooms on the fields. If the thatch is fully grown up, one cannot see the arena directly and has to make the own way through the different spaces. One can only directly see the arena when walking on the two axes of the circle. The thatch is used as material resource for the roof as well as a CO2 - compensator for the emissions that arise during construction. Thatch grows very quickly and is a good CO2 - binder which enables to get emission neutral. Additionally, it offers very nice sculptural qualities for the roof.

The roof enables dramatic rainy Kung Fu battles in the middle of the arena. Looking to the exterior, one can see through a curtain of rain into the landscape. In a silent moment, one experiences the magic atmosphere of hearing rain pouring down the roof. Back in the mind, that the water is just about to meet the stream around the arena. There is a pleasant feeling of shelter and at the same time, there is the open roof which reminds one of the infinity of heaven which underlines the nothingness of Kung Fu in a nice, subtle way. However, the roof demands lots of maintenance. Every year, the roof has to be cleaned from moss and other substances emerging due to wetness. This will be done by the Kung Fu Schools of Zurich. 

And this is where our Architecture becomes Kung Fu. The maintenance and also some of the building process of our arena, will be done by Kung Fu students of the Kung Fu Clubs of Zurich. We want to create an architecture of constant maintenance, a culture of repair. So our building is never complete and in a constant state of becoming. Because that is exactly what Kung Fu is about at its heart. The work on one's own person through the consistent devotion to a skill. An also on a more philosophical level, the concept of the five elements and their cycles, these five parts of a living system that influence each other are basically also the concept of a culture of repair.

Kung Fu Arena

1. Roof

This week, the construction of the roof has fundamentally changed from a light structure to a heavy thatch roof. It is now a permanent construction. The roof has gained much more significance and is embedded in our concept. It enables dramatic rainy Kung Fu battles in the middle of the arena. Looking to the exterior, one can see through a curtain of rain into the landscape. In a silent moment, one experiences the magic atmosphere of hearing rain pouring down the roof. Back in the mind, that the water is just about to meet the stream around the arena. There is a pleasant feeling of shelter and at the same time, there is the open roof which reminds one of the infinity of heaven which underlines the nothingness of Kung Fu in a nice, subtle way.

2. Concept

Through the change from a temporary to a permanent roof, our concept went as well through a process. The wood construction, which was supposed to be built up and demounted every year, is now permanent. This process, which symbolized the process of the nothingness and the cycles of Kung Fu, is now adapted slightly differently. Architecture should never just be conceptual, at a certain point, it has to become real. We create an architecture of constant maintenance which is connected to lots of rituals. Maintenance is a constant state of becoming, the building is never complete. Maintenance can make objects even more beautiful, be it in a physical or in a symbolical way. Maintenance might be a key to a sustainable architecture in the future, so we have the responsibility to turn it to our favor and to the favor of architecture.

3. Kung Fu Path

Coming from the Schweighofstrasse, which is the connection to the city, the street transforms into a path which then turns into our mound. The mound continues right into the forest, literally the nothingness of Kung Fu. The existing trees on the mound are being kept, the path will just go underneath. Additionally, we plant some more trees at the “end“ (acc. to the concept, there is not really an end) of the Kung Fu path to enhance the proximity of the forest. 

4. Vegetation and the Fields Around

On the fields around the arena, we plant thatch, based on a radial system. The radial system is hierarchized: Near the arena, the planting is more dense whereas farer away, it slightly fades out. 

The different thatch groups create different spaces or rooms on the fields. If the thatch is fully grown up, one can’t see the arena directly and has to make the own way through the different spaces. The arena can only directly be seen  when walking on the Theater Path or the Kung Fu Path. 

Of course, the thatch is also used as a material resource for the roof. Thatch is used all over the world, grows very quickly and has almost no carbon emission, sometimes it is even CO2-negative. Additionally, it has sculptural qualities which can be used for the roof construction.

5. Becoming Real

Kung Fu Arena - Kung Fu Path

1. Kung Fu Path

By looking carefully at the map again, we achieved to find a possible solution for the entrance to the  (existing) mound. Coming from the Schweighofstrasse, which is the connection to Friesenberg and the city, the street transforms into a path which then turns into our mound. The mound might continue right into the forest. 

2. Image Sequence

The sequence of images shows the different perspectives and moments one experiences when walking the Kung Fu Path (as described above, you do not cross the car parking and the street, these images are there for a better impression of the site).

3. The Entrance 

Through the discovery of the Kung Fu Path, a hierarchy of the entrances emerges. In other words, instead of four entrances, there are now only two, the ones from the mound-axises. Coming from the theater path along the stream, one enters the mound by stairs, but can not get directly into the arena. The awareness of the circle is enhanced by walking at least one quarter of the circle. The circle is now closed, the 360 degree movement of the sport and the form can unfold and there is set a hierarchy of the two projects meeting.

4. The Roof

The roof is made out of wood and reed (reed will be planted along the stream, with a imaginable extension to the fields). Reference for the construction is La Petatera from Mexiko. The foundation stones for the seating and the roof construction are the same. The roof is slanted to the exterior. A nice idea at the back of our mind is the idea of draining back the water to the stream. However, this competes with our very light and only sun-protecting reed roof…

5. Energy Concept

Kung Fu Arena

1. Concept

Together with the shooting activities, the two projects are in coexistence with an interaction point at the Kung Fu Arena itself. While the theater landscape is rather loop-like, the access to the arena is quite direct. The theater stages move along with the dynamic of topography and the piece while the arena is embedded quietly in topography und unfolds itself with the dynamic of movement of Kung Fu, the 360 degree awareness. It might be the heart of the area, which silently steers the cycles of the whole area as well its own cycles.

2. Entrance and Topography

Last week, we tried to do the two entrances along the path with tunnels. The circle was then closed. However, the entrance still seemed to be disturbed. So we decided to go down with the mound at the two entrances. In doing so, the circle is still closed and you can either enter the arena or go up the mound. While the plan remains the same, the section now changes. Another advantage: Going down with the mound allows to put the arena more underground. Like this, we can build the arena without adding earth from outside the arena.

4. Roof

The roof is still a big challenge! We didn’t yet succeed to find a solution for the tensioning ropes spanning down the mound which does disturb the conception of the mound. Also, fabric is maybe not the perfect material in sense of going autarkic. So we went into another direction: Using the material of reed for the roof. There seems already to be some kind of reed along the stream. So we could just follow nature and plant some more reed along the stream, maybe as well in the four fields.

5. Going Autarkic

We want to translate the epiphany of closeness of the circle to the cycles of resources. With the closed material cycles, our project becomes autarkic. We looked at the different building materials and estimated their cycles and when they become autarkic. A tree needs 60 years to become autarkic, the reed of the roof only two years. Cycles with a different, but constant pace.Earth is already there, the only material that has to be acquired from exterior is stone. The Kung Fu - students from the city will build up the arena. They will excavate the mound as well as building up the temporary part of the arena every year.

6. Going Forward

Kung Fu Arena

1. Concept 

How can we create one whole story for the area with the theater landscape and the Kung Fu Arena? How can the projects merge architecturally? The arena seems to naturally have become a climax. All the Five Elementes meet there as well as the theater stages  (the stream with the linear stage, the concrete cubes,…). 

Or might our arena keep the moment of appearing as something a bit strange, alien, to the area, like one wakes up from the Midsummer Night’s Dream?

2. Boundaries

For the boundaries, we focused on the entrance and how the arena interacts with the surrounding. First, we tried to pursue the suggestion from the crit to put the arena partly underground. Our conclusion: This doesn’t really work then with the existing wall. Neither does it conceptually. Putting it underground came from the idea of the process of „creating nothing“ and therefore seeing nothing from far away. You can’t see any wall, but the whole arena, it isn’t something hidden or a somehow special place anymore.

We changed the „cut-through-entrances“ into tunnels (reference: image of the stream’s tunnel). Therefore, the circle can act in its origin form and isn’t broken apart. Also structurally, it acts as a whole (which could be taken over for the roof as well). The act of going through a tunnel, a void, emphasizes the concept of the arena.

Around the arena, there are four fields. Four field, four gardens. Here we are in the Persian Gardens, another excursion far away. The arena would the become the center, the spring. Can  we find a way to create our own gardens in these fields, for example in planting trees used for the construction? However, seen from another perspective, the arena is quite an inversion of the Persian Gardens: Water goes around, the square is in the middle and the four fields go around the wall.

3. Void

As it was said in the mid-crit, Kung-Fu is a „process of creating nothing“. Or in other words „everything achieves nothing“. We do like the idea of this „emptiness“ which has developed very naturally. Maybe, we could go one step further and adapt this to the sound? We detected, that you always hear the shooting in the area (that is in fact a bit annoying). What if you would suddenly stop hearing this?

4. Roof

It seems to be a huge challenge to find a suitable roof. At the moment, we are thinking of a kind of sun protection. The construction should be the lightest possible, fabric or textiles would be appropriate materials. An inspiration was the Roman „Velarium“ which they put on the colosseum as a sun protection. There, we have a pull ring which holds together the roof and emphasizes the structure of the circle.

5. Cycles, Ecology

We want to translate the epiphany of closeness of the circle to the cycles of resources. With the closed material cycles, our project becomes autarkic. To be clarified are certain points like how to get the limestone, how big the network should be (the goal would be to include the area, but we have links to the city as well). 

6. City Drawing

Since we are going autark, we want to include the Kung Fu schools of Zurich. Each school has to build several sections appropriate to the number of Kung Fu students.

7. The Circle

Kung Fu Arena 

The story of our project begins with last semester: There we attempted to look at the shooting range of Friesenberg and its surroundings as kind of a „Gesamtbühne“ to stage Shakespeare’s Midsummernight‘s Dream. In addition to our theatre landscape project from last semester, we introduce another, new component to our forum: an arena for the martial art Kung Fu.

The two projects meet physically where the stream, embedded into our „linear stage“, artificially cuts through the artificial mound. We take over this breakthrough by dismantling the mound and shifting it around to the outside. A void, a new room or even kind of a climax emerges.

In China, Kung Fu refers to any skill or discipline achieved through hard work and patience and therefore to any study, learning or practice that requires patience, energy and time to complete. This would lead to the conclusion that architecture could also be seen as some kind of Kung Fu. Five Elements play an important role in Kung Fu and are especially appreciated in combat. We rediscovered those Five Elements at the site and they became the foundation of our project. Topography is earth, wood is the trees, water is the ponds and the little streams, fire is the sun and its path and metal is all the shooting structures. 

FS20, Arena, Kung Fu Arena, by Group26

01_Energy Drawing

The arena will consist out of two different types of construction: A permanent part made out of earthwork and a temporary timber construction. This idea corresponds with the five elements and their cycles which are described in the drawing.

Earth incorporates all the energies and operates between the different elements. In contrary to the earth, the other elements are not that permanent: In summer, the fire dominates, the sun shines brightly. In autumn, the metal emerges. Metal is a force that points down, as a tree will then put its energy back from the branches to the earth. This is the time when the temporary timber construction of our arena will be dismantled as it won’t be needed during winter being a openair construction.

The cycle continues with winter where the energy points to the inside. The arena, now consisting only outof the earthwork, will still be accessible for visitors and athletes, but running on a lower pace. Eventually, spring arrives and the element wood flourishes. Energy flows from the ground up to the branches of the trees. The timber structure is erected again, the preparation for another big Kung Fu summer starts. We show this by drawing the four seasons and what is happening when.

02_Site Plan

The arena is a new component and addition to our forum with the landscape theater project last semester.

03_Site Plan 2 „Layers“

Since the five elements are the foundation of our project, we analyzed the area through their lenses and overlayed them over the area. Topography is earth, wood is the trees, water is the ponds and the little streams, fire is the sun and its path and metal is all the shooting structures.

04-06_Construction

Permanent Construction

The permanent part of the arena is of course the earthwork, but as well a stone wall around the inside in order to stop the wall falling apart. This fits to the of  „hard work and patience“ mentality of Kung Fu.Since you enter the arena by walking on the existing wall,tThere will probably as well be permanent stairs or ramps coming from the wall where you can enter the arena all year.

In Disussion:

-The entrance is a topic that is still in discussion. We do need something permanent that you can enter the arena during the hole year. Should we do the access in form of a ramp or stairs and should we maybe enter by going under the wall?

-Is stone or „quarry stone“ the best suitable material? How about bricks? Or clay? But with these materials, there seems to be a big problem with moisture...

Timber Construction

The timber construction is rebuilt every year in spring. The wood comes from the forestry and is stored in the empty shooting range when not used.

The foundations are stones in which we stick the wood. The connections are not yet all totally clear, but will basically be stuck together and have screws which is best for a temporary stucture which will be put up again.

To Do:

Stairs are missing in the drawing

The construction has to be stiffened out

Some of the connections have to be defined