THE ALUMINUM MOUNTAIN || Celestial Palace on the Mountain
Nature has its strange ways of revealing its beauty.
The Aluminum Mountain finds itself in such a disposition. Situated in Mt. Luofu, Canton, the Shanghai-based firm Wutopia Lab took the lead in transforming the space into a Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Industrial Park Exhibition Center for Ping An Real Estate and Guangzhou Fangyuan Group.
Settling in between Mt. Luofu and Taiping Mountain, the architecture was overseen by Chief Architect Yu Ting. He drew his ethos from the slice of literature belief that echoes “one sea and three mountains.” The artificial mountain forms the last piece of this belief, encompassing a house of serenity in which the state of zen is bound to be practiced and sustained.
Bird’s eye view of The Aluminum Mountain comprised of three volumes
From the sky, the Aluminum Mountain, composed of three interwoven buildings, constructs a circle-shaped architecture surrounded by a garden inside the vicinity and a lush forest outside the property. The adoption of this shape portrays the inherent character of the design, sourced from the practices of Taoism and Taiji. Aluminum boards perforate the materials to afford a look that seems heavy at day, elicited through the rays of the sun, but softens at night as the in-house lamps and bulbs light up the space.
As dusk settles in, the water features surrounding the structure act as serene, reflective mirrors of the tranquil natural surrounding
As the night progresses, the well-lit structure, perceived as a giant lamp through the colossal metal roof that hovers over the six concrete columns and glistens under the placed luminous films on the bottom, allowing the light to trespass from inside out, assumes an ethereal mood and celestial look. The floating feature of the architecture sings the anthem of Mt. Luofu when Yu Ting first witnessed its sheer grace and how, from his naked eyes, it appeared suspended mid-air.
The elegant staircase structure is a key highlight of the project
The voluminous spiral staircase indicates solidarity and strength against nature as its background
An 11.9-meters spiral staircase that traverses from the basement to the overlooking top continues the Taoist and Taiji philosophy of the design. Guests follow the path that leads to the panorama of Mt. Luofu and Taiping Mountain on the open rooftop. The humbling ambiance is accompanied by the solemn breeze of the wind, asking whoever dares to stay to breathe in the state of tranquility.
On the ground, a labyrinth of water ponds clambers around the Aluminum Mountain, a feature that plays a pivotal role in spoiling the guests at their first arrival. A red boat awaits at a dock which they may use to reach the front desk. As the boat crosses the water path, the guests sail by the skin of the architecture and garden before being ushered into a tunnel that ends in a staircase and an elevator, two mediums that lead the way towards the reception area.
Red boat traversing the water path to the building
The architect infuses his creation with a sense of slowness in time. The absence of hurriedness evokes perfectly in the use of subtle gray shade that masks over the exterior and interior palettes and the bubble-like maze that includes the foyer, display zone, video and conference rooms, exhibition space, art gallery, office, and restrooms. Inside the layered jungle, time and space meet. No longer can the guests identify the difference between these two elements as they relish the present and place they are in.
The architects intentionally invite light into the cool and solid architecture, while also preserving nature with their considered design elements
A massive volume supported by attachments focuses the natural beams coming in from the skylight
The Aluminum Mountain, also known as the Third Mountain, presents a lifestyle that gradually dies out from the urban residents' thoughts. It resuscitates the wisdom or harmony between nature, sphere, and people through a holistic district built from handpicked materials, cultural principles, and well-versed allegories.
The rain poured on the day Wutopia Lab paid a visit to the project site. The mist that wafted on the ground and the pats of rain hindered their progress. As the architects made their way back to their vehicles, the rain stopped. Behind them, the face of Mt. Luofu, a renowned Taoist mountain, surfaced beyond the mist. The revelation spurred a riveting sensation as it mirrored the sudden appearance of a celestial palace. In such a revealing moment, the emergence of Mt. Luofu dictated a threshold for the Aluminum Mountain to flourish as an ode.
PROJECT DETAILS
Project Name: TheAluminum Mountain
Design Firm: Wutopia Lab
Chief Architect: Yu Ting
Project Architect: Xu Yunfang, Li Hao
Project Manager: Pu Shengrui
Design Team: Li Ziheng, Pan Dali, Kuang Zhou, Huang He
Intern: Wang Ye, Xu Nan
Client: Ping An Real Estate Co., Ltd. & Fineland Group
Lighting Consultant: Chloe Zhang, Cai Mingjie
Facade Project Consultant: Florian Rochereau
Construction Drawing Design: Shanghai Southeast United Engineering Design Co., Ltd.
Interior Construction Drawing Design: Alignment Studio
Landscape: Z Studio
Photography: CreatAR Images
Location: Guangdong, China
Area: 2453sqm
Project Completion Date: June 2020
Matthew Burgos doesn’t talk to people. He interviews them and writes their story, carpeting the narratives with poetry. He’s an aspiring journalist, an indie-folk playlist devourer, a self-proclaimed maverick, and a die-hard, 90% dark chocolate glutton.
