AS ABOVE SO BELOW / KHAA (Kuo+Huang and Associates)

Invited by a traditional Taiwanese steel enterprise, KHAA seeks to transform the public's perception of steel from heaviness and rigidity into lightness and flexibility. Through this project, steel structures are reimagined as three small architectural compositions, each a gentle verse singing of poetry and song.

Lying along Taal Ridge on the northern edge of the Taal Caldera overlooking Taal Lake, Tagaytay derives its name from the Tagalog word for mountain ridges and is a popular tourist destination known for its cooler climate and forested slopes. The city's identity has always been shaped by Geography, Forests, and Tourism.

The educational pavilion integrates the exhibition "A river does not exist alone," a project by the Tomie Ohtake Institute, curated by Sabrina Fontenele and Vânia Leal, created to engage with the urgent themes brought forth by the 30th UN Conference on Climate Change (COP 30). The proposal reaffirms the Flume Studio's vocation to understand architecture as a tool for social and environmental impact. The structure proposes a gesture of lightness and integration with the landscape of the Zoobotanical Park, translating principles of sustainability and territorial listening into an architectural and educational experience.

Land use and transformation — The site is located to the north of Palma, in a heterogeneous area that has been urbanized in several phases. Low-density housing and agricultural areas predominate. The structural solution is inspired by traditional systems, where the structure itself defines and houses the spaces, integrating load-bearing and habitability functions.