The Source: Ashui Pavilion 2026

The city has lost most of its water surfaces over half a century, as lakes, ponds, canals and low fields gave way to development, and it now floods after heavy rain. Against this concretisation, the temporary pavilion calls for bringing water back into urban space. The Vietnamese design team imagined it as a source from which rays of water flow out.

The hemisphere, 10 metres across, is built from a series of curves set side by side. Depending on its use, the space can open into a stage or close into a place for contemplation.

Traditional golden glazed concave tiles create its atmosphere. Each tile stands for a bamboo joint, a drop of water, and together they form bamboo stalks like shining streams, a glowing sky that recalls sunlight falling through rain.