Architects from the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design used a cable membrane structure and bricks of river ice to create this installation in Qinhuangdao, China, which has been shortlisted for a 2023 Dezeen Award.
A team from BIAD, led by architects Xiyan Yang, Guanjia Li and Chenzhi Yan, designed and built the Falling Hours pavilion to offer visitors a ceremonial way of marking the turn of the year.
BIAD created the Falling Hours pavilion for the community of Aranya
During 2022's New Year's Eve celebrations, passersby were invited to collect sand from the beach in the coastal community of Aranya, where the installation was constructed.
This sand was poured through a hole on top of the structure, accumulating in its conical membrane roof, which effectively functioned as a huge hourglass. The temporary structure had a membrane roof
At midnight, participants pulled on a ribbon to open this funnel, prompting the sand to rain onto the floor, while visitors wrote their wishes for the new year on the hourglass membrane.
The project drew on a similar roofing system to the one that BIAD helped to engineer for Foster + Partners' Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

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But in this case, it consisted of a circular steel structure with a diameter of six metres and a height of three metres, supported by a tensioned cable and membrane r...