Recycled-plastic bricks used to revive a Mid-Autumn Festival tradition, and make a point about eco-friendly construction
- Tower burning is a facet of mid-autumn festivities in southern China that has died out. Hong Kong architects have built an eco-friendly, flame-free version
- It’s also a showcase for the polyethylene bricks used to make it; they have wider application in internal and external building design, the architects believe
Mid-Autumn Festival, the traditional time of worshipping the moon, means many things in Chinese culture. Mooncakes and lanterns are still around today, but some ancient practices – such as tower burning – have disappeared.
Hong Kong architecture studio Daydreamers Design is reigniting that tradition with The Wishing Pavilion in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay.
The custom of building a tower and setting it on fire was practised in Guangdong, southern China, in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties. Tall structures were built of bricks and tiles, with wood and bamboo placed inside. On the night of the ceremony, the towers would be lit, the flames bringing good luck and good harvests, the villagers believed.
Stanley Siu Kwok-kin, the founder of Daydreamers Design, combines this concept with another tradition – releasing candle-lit lanterns into the night sky that carry the senders’ wishes with them. “Traditionally, the towers are slim – people are not supposed to go inside,” Siu says. “But I wanted Hongkongers to experience the tower, so I enlarged the footprint.” (Of course, no real flame is involved. LED globes and computer programming create an enchanting simulated fire).
Siu and his team opted for an 18-metre diameter base for the six-metre tower, designed as a vortex so people move through it in a circular pattern.