Photography | Chen Hao
沉湖鳥類遷徙觀測塔
Chenhu Migratory Bird Observation Tower
現代科技讓我們簡單點擊即可瀏覽任何事物，但這種快節奏長久下來，總讓人覺得心靈匱乏、無法真正獲得喜悅。這也是為何英國皇家鳥類保護協會經八年研究，發現觀鳥活動在年輕世代間愈來愈受歡迎，更多人願意早起聆聽鳥鳴，甚至遠途前往自然保護區靜心感受與自然萬物的連結。這座位於武漢市蔡甸區香爐山，由相南建築事務所建造的鳥類遷徙觀測塔，其如雙股 DNA 般螺旋交織的型態，以及啞光銀色金屬表層，在湖沼綠地環繞的山頂高點中，顯得醒目且前衛，吸引人們前來登高觀鳥，也引人疑惑這座塔樓具備的現代幾何感，與自然地景是相互衝突還是共生？
Modern technology lets us view almost anything with a click, yet over time this pace of life can leave us feeling empty and unable to find genuine joy. This helps explain the growing popularity of birdwatching among younger generations. Research published by Britain’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) documents this trend over an eight-year period. More people are willing to rise early to listen to birdsong, or even travel long distances to nature reserves to quietly connect with the natural world. On Xianglushan in Wuhan’s Caidian District stands a migratory bird observation tower by Xiang Architects. Its DNA-like double helix and matte silver metal cladding give it a striking, avant-garde presence on a hilltop surrounded by lakes and green marshland. It draws visitors to climb the tower and watch birds, while raising a question: does its modern geometry clash with the natural landscape, or coexist with it in harmony?
Photography | Chen Hao
Photography | Chen Hao
然而，正是這種不刻意隱匿自身的塔樓姿態，藉由層層展開的步行路徑，給予人們從不同角度與高度俯瞰濕地的機會。沉湖濕地作為江漢平原最大的淡水沼澤，也是東亞—澳大利西亞候鳥遷徙路線上的重要驛站。每年 10 月至次年 3 月，都會迎來十萬餘隻越冬候鳥在此停留、覓食與休整。為了避免驚擾生態，設計團隊在海拔約 22 公尺的自然高點，矗立起 19.8 公尺高的塔樓。觀測塔融合樓梯與平台，以反向雙螺旋結構，交融出連續不間斷的觀景體驗。隨著階梯爬升、轉向，沿路徑交替分布的平台，讓人得以全方位俯瞰鄰近的桐湖、通順河與濕地水系，亦能觀賞白鶴、青頭潛鴨在蘆葦叢間棲息的珍稀畫面；透過垂直幾何在水平場地中創造登高遠眺的視覺張力。
Yet this tower, which makes no attempt to conceal itself, offers views over the wetland from different angles and heights along a walking route that unfolds level by level. Chenhu Wetland, the largest freshwater marsh on the Jianghan Plain, is an important stopover on the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. Each year, from October to the following March, more than 100,000 migratory birds arrive to overwinter, feed and rest. To avoid disturbing the local ecosystem, the design team erected the 19.8-metre-high tower on a natural high point approximately 22 metres above sea level. Its stairs and platforms form two helices winding in opposite directions, creating an uninterrupted sequence of views. As visitors climb and turn, platforms staggered along the route offer views in every direction over nearby Tonghu, the Tongshun River and the waterways of the surrounding wetlands. Visitors can also observe rare birds such as Siberian cranes and Baer’s pochards resting among the reeds. Throughout the ascent, the tower’s vertical geometry creates visual tension with the horizontal landscape stretching into the distance.
Photography | Chen Hao
Photography | Chen Hao
Photography | Chen Hao
乍看之下，這座觀測塔看似巨大，對比的卻是其與地面的接觸面積極小。設計團隊以點狀接觸設計為塔身底部留下開闊空間，讓動物可從塔底自由穿行，雨水也能由直徑約 3 公尺圓形的鏤空天井落下，維持自然水文循環。拿掉中柱，是團隊綜合美學、空間體驗和結構力學上做出的決策。他們反向設置的鋼斜撐構件與樓梯、平台結合，約束樓梯產生的扭轉效應，以連續的三角受力單元穩固結構體，在狹窄的塔身內實現單向循環的流暢動線。如此不僅能避免擁擠，亦讓旅客攀爬時視線不被阻擋，帶來通透美感。透過參數化設計，將輕盈的雙螺旋結構形態拆解為 24 個標準化模塊，在工廠預製後運至現場如樂高般組裝，大幅降低對周邊候鳥棲息地的施工破壞與污染。
At first glance, the tower seems immense, yet its contact with the ground is minimal. By limiting this contact to discrete points, the team left the space beneath the structure open, allowing animals to pass through freely. Rain can also fall through the circular, open-to-sky central void, approximately three metres in diameter, maintaining the natural hydrological cycle. Aesthetics, spatial experience and structural mechanics all informed the decision to omit a central column. The team integrated the stairs and platforms with diagonal steel bracing inclined in the opposite direction to the stair flights. The bracing restrains the torsion generated by the stairs. Together, the flights, platforms and braces form a continuous series of triangular load-bearing units that stabilise the tower. A one-way circulation loop allows visitors to move smoothly through its narrow interior. This arrangement helps prevent congestion, while the absence of a central column keeps sightlines clear during the ascent, giving the space a sense of openness. Using parametric design, the team divided the lightweight double-helix structure into 24 standardised modules. The modules were prefabricated in a factory, transported to the site and assembled like Lego, greatly reducing construction-related damage and pollution in the surrounding migratory bird habitats.
Photography | Chen Hao
Photography | Chen Hao
Photography | Chen Hao
於煙波浩渺的濕地中，沉湖鳥類遷徙觀測塔確實引人矚目。但塔身採用的啞光銀色金屬外層，在不特意消隱自身的前提下，溫柔捕捉自然光線，融入氣象變化之中。當清晨起霧，塔身融入白霧；黃昏晚霞滿天，金屬板則染上橘紅霞光，以謙遜姿態回應濕地無垠的水平地景。儘管沉湖濕地已配備智慧監測系統，能讓專業人士依靠分布各處的設備動態追蹤候鳥，但這座塔樓的建立，反而讓原本不關心生態的都市人群開始關注這片濕地，成為人們走入自然、觸動心靈的實體媒介。
Amid the wetland’s vast, misty expanse, the Chenhu Migratory Bird Observation Tower certainly draws the eye. Yet its matte silver metal cladding softly catches the daylight, reflecting the changing weather without deliberately concealing the tower itself. When white mist gathers in the morning, the structure blends into it; at sunset, its metal panels take on the orange-red glow of the clouds, responding with quiet deference to the wetland’s boundless horizontal landscape. Chenhu Wetland already has a smart monitoring system that allows specialists to track the movements of migratory birds using equipment distributed across the site. The tower, however, has brought the wetland to the attention of city dwellers who previously had little interest in the natural environment. It has become a tangible link to nature, allowing people to enter the landscape and be moved by it.
