Text description provided by the architects. It is a leisure and holiday service space in the mountain forest in the suburb of Hangzhou, China. The design starts from the concrete environment. The first thing we consider is what kind of space device can talk with this mountain forest, and can better conform to the terrain and integrate into nature. The special conditions of the site determine the particularity of the building.
The building site is presented as two rectangles with connected corners, and the width across the valley stream is less than three meters. The butterfly shape is the result of connecting rectangular sites across two hillsides by service space. At the same time, it conforms to the contour lines of, and the internal functions of the building are divided by different ground elevations. Butterfly shape can also be understood as two V-shaped cuts cut into the building, facing two distant places of the valley respectively, introducing the natural landscape into the interior and embracing nature. The other two sides of the building are embedded in the mountain, and the channel of stream and mountain road is still reserved under the overhead butterfly-shaped building.
To keep some trees indoors, the vertical structure is designed as a "column courtyard", which is a pillar in the structural meaning, and a "miniature courtyard" with one tree preserved in the spatial meaning. The roof is a stepped slope, which can be used as a forest theater for small-scale performances. Interior space is unified by this sloping roof, and it is full of rhythm as the ground elevation changes.
By building such a space, we hope that every viewer will be in the most relaxed state, and can see a world with its own special rhythm, which is different from usual.
The 38-68㎡ aluminum shell buildings are placed deep in the forest and penetrates into nature. The definition of architecture returns to the basic concept of being a shelter, which exists as a basic space against wind and rain to meet people's basic needs. The weather-resistant aluminum shell can withstand the erosion of harsh climate, which is in contrast to the surrounding environment. The size of space is defined by the human body, and the walls and roofs of buildings are within reach. This kind of space experience close to a camping tent always makes people feel that nature is close at hand, only separated by the thickness of an outer wall.
All-in-one wooden material provides a warm and comfortable building lining and a pleasant living atmosphere, which is in contrast with the wild interest of external nature. This contrast makes people sensitive to nature and can feel the beauty of nature, either tender and delicate, or harsh and cold.
There is one native tree in each building and the space occupied becomes the courtyard, which is always accompanied by indoor life through glass, which is the reverse penetration of nature into the building, and the courtyard also provides a private landscape for the toilet.
The interior is designed to have different elevations. Not defined by partition walls, different living contents are separated by heights, thus maintaining relative independence and creating rich changes in space, which are also reflected in the external forms of buildings to adapt to the different slopes of mountains.
Each interior space has a corresponding floor-to-ceiling glass facade. The top of the pyramid is provided with skylights that can look at the sky and crown, combine into different directions to enjoy the scenery. The external landscape is projected into the whole space, becomes the main element of architecture, and forms the special tension of space. All of which is to gain more perception of nature when living indoors.
As a spiritual healing place, the greatest value lies in how to integrate into nature and accompany it. People can feel nature again, return to inner peace and set themselves free.
