The Lighthouse of Wishes / Vector Architects

On the picturesque coastline of Aranya Community, Beidaihe, you'll find the Lighthouse of Wishes situated in adjacence to Vector Architect’s Seashore Library. This is a special project made possible after its selection as the "best new years eve architectural proposal" by the community's residents in an open poll. After two months of design refinement and construction, it was officially completed and inaugurated on December 31, 2022, in preparation for the arrival of 2023. The concept of Lighthouse of Wishes began with an idea – architects retreating to the background, inviting people to participate in the process of architectural design, harnessing civic energy through the process of "co-creation, co-construction, and co-owning", to create a one-of-a-kind New Year's Eve installation structure. The entire façade of the Wishing Beacon was painted by the public. On New Year’s Eve, the final empty canvas on the Lighthouse fills with colour, and at midnight, the entire structure was illuminated. During the following period of New Year's celebration, it continues to offer new aesthetic experiences to locals and visitors. For this project, we particularly investigated material processing and construction, lightweight construction strategies, and cradle-to-cradle lifecycle assessment of construction materials in relation to the relationship between architecture, people, and time.