Sichuan fog -- architecture and moisture

Abstract

This thesis is sited in Chongqing city, the "Fog Capital" of China. Surrounded by the nearby mountains of the Sichuan Basin, the city experiences year-long cloudiness as a result of temperature inversion caused by the basin's convective layer being capped by a layer of air moving east across the Tibet Plateau. Located at the confluence of Yangzte River and Jialing River, the city is enshrouded with fog for over 100 days per year result from an abundant amount of moisture trapped by the valley and nearby parallel mountain ridges. By re-imagining the transportation facilities which connects the upper and lower town of the city, this thesis researches the relationship between architecture and atmosphere from micro to macro, synchronizes the traveling of people and air, celebrates the ephemerality of the experience of ambient light, and proposes a rush-hour experience of fog. As a manifesto of the architecture of moisture, three individual projects are created, which are "Cloud Bridge", "Air Gate" and "Fog Tunnel".