Excerpt: Klein Blue Hills and White Cliff by Wutopia Lab is an architecture project based on symbols, metaphors, mythology, and spontaneous ideas. The designer integrated mountains, palaces, and trees into the concept of architectural design, creating an undulating mountain-shaped roof structure resembling a tent. The design interprets historical style and aesthetics in a vibrant and contemporary manner.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] There is a slender water line between the sky pond of the copper blockhouse and the red brick building. If you go along the water line you can trace its source hidden in the northernmost part of the EKA Park, Klein Blue Hills and White Cliff, renovated from a roof-covered stockyard and a duty room. The designer planned seven locations for the park, hoping that their sequential opening would activate the PLOT of the park. As the focus of the park, there is a thin connecting thread behind the Copper Blockhouse. The Klein Blue Hills and the White Cliff, and the Copper Blockhouse are a family, they are two of the seven locations.
The designer conceived the PLOT through symbols, metaphors, mythology, charms, history, and spontaneous ideas. The knowledge he gained in selecting structures, materials, site analysis, and historical typologies served as a secondary framework between the PLOT and the design. He says, “I consider the Klein Blue Hills as Mr. Chen’s wife and my wife, who are suffering from illness. I hope they can live well. Cyan in the east, symbolizes vitality.”
This is why the designer intended to use the color cyan. His judgment is validated by the research in “The Golden Peach of Samarkand”, which confirms that WU Zetian used lapis lazuli to represent the sky. The “cyan” in lapis lazuli is Klein Blue. Furthermore, he connects this to the green mountains in Khanbaliq mentioned in “The Travels of Marco Polo”. He describes how the mountains, palaces, and trees are seamlessly integrated. Extracting from this historical type, the designer designed the roof of the architecture as an undulating mountain shape, resembling a tent settling on the site. The inspiration for this tent came from the section on “Wheeled tents of the Tartars” that he came across when reconfirming the green mountains in Khanbaliq. Thus, initially, he named this building Klein Blue Tent.
The designer asked project manager, MU Zhilin, to use metal, allowing this soft building to be covered by shiny armor. Special structure and customized curtain wall consultant, FLO suggested arranging aluminum panels in a pattern of fish skin to conform to the undulating shape.
“Since life is full of unpredictability, I painted the entire interior in white. At the same time, uplifting words are needed to encourage me, and the golden gate represents those wonderful memories, while the orange circular window is a blessing. When the curator HE Genxiang shared the photos on social media, someone commented, ‘Waves.’ I said, ‘Wave-like Hills.’ This is the birth of Klein Blue Hills, straightly inspired by life. Under the undulating Klein blue hills, there’s our swaying world.”
The designer decided to design the duty room into two layers. A translucent PVC fabric curtain wall outlines the white cliffs whereas the interior is a solid geometric form. We look at children from a high vantage point, assuming they need protection and are also vulnerable. However, our children may be resilient. Any setbacks they face will be a baptism for their future exciting lives. This forms the two-layer boundary of the white cliffs.
The designer always felt that the intricate floor designs in landscape architecture are unnecessary and a waste of money. He covered the entire site with red concrete. In this way, there is a complete background for the entire architectural complex. He retained the chimney, designing it as a lighthouse and signpost. Mr. Zhan, the deputy general manager of the client, asked him what he wanted to change inside.
He said, “Turn it into a cigar lounge.” “Yes, I imagined that I curled up on the sofa inside the chimney, Mr. Zhan and I lighting a cigar with Mr. Zhan, watching the smoke slowly drift towards the well-like sky. Perhaps, at that moment, it’s the most relaxing moment for us busy middle-aged individuals.”
The Klein Blue Hills was originally supposed to be a restaurant and the White Cliffs was a bar. As the completion approached, they were decided to be vacant for better opportunities. “When shooting the interior of the empty White Cliffs, I requested to lay leopard-print flooring because during those difficult times, Tangtang fell in love with leopards and found encouragement in them. In the end, it was turned into tiger stripes on site. Tangtang advised me not to be too paternalistic. I thought, well, that works too; life doesn’t have to be so tense.”
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