Niyang River Vista Point

Niyang River, China

Architects: standardarchitecture

In this part of Tibet the landscape is characterized by a wide valley with a chain of mountains crossed by the Niyang River. The project design was inspired by the sinuous course of the river that is split into several streams that diverge and unite to create a continuous and sensual movement; a flow through the Yarlungtzangbu River.

The vista point is generated from the existing small plateau on the site adjacent to the road and by expanding the axis of the road’s movement towards the river and its landscape. The project creates two different overlapped arched surfaces that are joined at the edges to achieve a continuous sloping movement path.

The vista point is both a physical and visual stroll through the landscape and the observer is driven to experience it from different perspectives. One can dwell on a lifted spatial construct or within a compressed and framed architectural device that expands and opens the visual field towards a unique landscape.