wutopia lab completes the 'aluminum mountain' in guangdong, china

inspired by the misty mount luofu that stands in the background, wutopia lab has designed an exhibition center for traditional chinese medicine in guangdong, china. aptly called the ‘aluminum mountain’, the recently completed architecture embraces a circular geometry and a light, silvery materiality. 

images © creatAR images

the building is formed in three volumes, or ‘mountains’, that are set within a large fish pond, which wutopia lab remodelled for this project. winding paths of stone and water set a tranquil scene and invite visitors into the health industrial park exhibition center. most of the functions of the center are placed underground in the basement floor level, leaving the first floor with plenty of large open spaces. in reference to the nearby mount luofu, a huge metal roof appears to float over the building, although it is in fact supported by six concrete columns. at night, thanks to the lighting underneath, the aluminum mountain really does seem to hover. 

the architect describes the design, ‘I wanted to create a slowed sense of time. I used continuous circles to form the underground space, a bubble-like maze that includes the foyer, display zone, video room, conference room, model exhibition space, art gallery, office and toilets. I hoped that visitors could lose their sense of time and space. the central exhibition space is a triple height space, serving as the highest mountain among the three.’

to clad the structure, wutopia lab has utilized three different aluminum boards with perforation rates of 45, 60 and 70. in this way, the mountain appears heavy during the day but light and ethereal at nighttime with the lights on. visitors can also follow the path and take the spiral staircase to the roof of the building, and to the peak of this architectural mountain. 

‘the aluminum mountain was named the third mountain. since it was constructed on mount luofu, it should not become a sales centre that is eager to show itself off. it should present a lifestyle that was lost, some dreams that we urban residents are dying to realize. in a humanistic space full of symbolic meanings, a space built with modern technology while exhibiting traditional wisdom, we are supposed to feel happiness. to bring a beautiful life: such is the meaning of the third mountain, a celestial palace of our time.’ – wutopia lab

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project info:

project name: the aluminum mountain
location: guangdong, china
design firm: wutopia lab
chief architect: yu ting
project architects: xu yunfang, li hao
project manager: pu shengrui
design team: li ziheng, pan dali, kuang zhou, huang he
interns: wang ye, xu nan
client: ping an real estate co., ltd. & fineland group
lighting consultants: chloe zhang, cai mingjie
façade project consultant: florian rochereau
construction drawing design: shanghai southeast united engineering design co., ltd.
interior construction drawing design: alignment studio
landscape: Z studio
area: 26404 ft2 (2453 m2)
date: june 2020
photography: creatAR images

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom