ZJJZ tops 'the mushroom' guest house with cone-shaped roof in china's jiangxi forest

located in a pine forest in china’s  jiangxi province, ‘the mushroom’ by ZJJZ is a wood guest house topped with a cone-shape roof. the 50 sqm dwelling adopts a lifted steel structure to minimize the impact of construction on the site, while the rest of the house is coated with granolithic concrete and its roof clad in pine wood shingles. the materials change in color with humidity and time, allowing the building to blend in with the surrounding natural environment.images by ZJJZ unless stated otherwise

‘handling the relationship between nature and the architecture became the essential approach of our design,’ notes ZJJZ. ‘the mushroom’ is composed of two simple volumes – a circular and a rectangular one – developed to serve the functions housed inside. the main part of the building (the circle) is the guest room space, which features a panoramic window that immerses visitors in the surrounding nature. the loft serves as a children’s area, linked by the small-scale stairs, while the pure white cone-shaped roof is rounded at the top, creating a sense of unbounded extension to the space.

the simple rectangular volume, which is inserted into the main body of ‘the mushroom’, encloses the bathroom and storage space. a horizontal window is designed next to the bathtub, which ensures privacy by avoiding the view from pedestrian path while bringing nature into the space. meanwhile, the circular skylight at the top introduces different expressions of light and shadows with the change of time and weather. this poetic space also serves as the entrance lobby of the house, where the guests often visit and linger.image by fangfang tiang

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project info:

name: the mushroom – a wood house in the forest

architect: ZJJZ

location: jiangxi, china

gross built area: 50 sqm

lead architect: sean shen, xuanru chen, yuying kate tsai

client: TREE WOW

structure consultant: XIE technologies

completion year: 2020